Safari lodges overlooking giraffes approved for zoo

The lodges will allow guests to watch giraffes from their rooms

A zoo has been given the go-ahead to build safari style lodges overlooking grazing giraffes.

Guests at Chester Zoo will be able to stay overnight and wake up to the sight of the animals.

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning department has rubber-stamped the Grasslands development, which includes 51 lodges, a two-storey reception building with bar and restaurant, an orientation lodge and lake.

The zoo has said the lodges will be based on African safari lodge designs.

Some of the lodges will overlook giraffes while others will overlook a lake

Once built, some of the lodges will overlook the lake while others will oversee a savannah-style enclosure.

The plans include four types of lodges to accommodate between four and six people.

Similar proposals had been approved in 2019 but were put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Revised plans were submitted in 2022 for 63 lodges but later reduced to 51.

The development is on green belt land and can only be built on if special circumstances are demonstrated a report said those requirements had been met.