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Chester Zoo is set for a big change as new safari style lodges have been approved.

The new feature at the attraction will overlook giraffes grazing on a savannah. As our sister site Cheshire Live reports, the application has been approved by Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning department for 51 accommodation lodges.

The new feature will also include a two storey reception building with bar and restaurant, an orientation lodge and groundworks for creation of a lake. Once built, some of the lodges will overlook the lake while others will overlook a savannah-style enclosure complete with roaming giraffes.

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The plans include four types of lodges to accommodate between four and six people, with most being based on traditional timber African safari lodge designs. Approving the plans, an officer report, said: “The proposal would include the provision of a welcome building located to the north end of the site with the lodges sited to the south and around central lakes.

"The lodges would comprise of four types of accommodation which vary in scale and form. That being said, they would be constructed from similar materials including cedar shingles, timber louvres and timber framed glazing and all benefit from veranda features. Some of the units would cantilever over the lakes.”

The development site is in the Green Belt, a buffer designed to protect against urban sprawl. It can only be built on if special circumstances are demonstrated, but the report said those requirements had been met. It said: “Other considerations to be taken into account such as the contribution the zoo makes to the local economy and the benefits it provides to education and