In a bid to become a year-round attraction that can host guests overnight or longer, the UK's West Midland Safari Park is pushing forward with expansion plans for an indoor water park, 250-room hotel and conference centre. It’s a major investment for the 40-year-old park, at an estimated cost of £80m ($137m, €101m).

The Worcestershire park will submit a planning application for the proposed jungle-themed water park in August, while plans for the hotel and conference centre are still at the outline stage. “This is the biggest transformation of the park since it first opened,” said Nick Laister, senior director at RPS, the park’s planning advisers.

The proposed expansion could take up to 10 years to complete and will create about 500 jobs. It’s expected that the work will put West Midland Safari Park in a position to compete with the UK’s most popular attractions, such as the nearby Alton Towers.

Further to the expansion, the safari park is pushing to be served by its own dedicated station on the Severn Valley Railway, which would increase accessibility and visitor numbers. Public consultations for local residents are being held this week.

The safari park currently attracts approximately 750,00 visitors a year. Inside the 4-mile (6.3km) park, they can see the UK’s only pride of white lions, a lemur walk-through exhibit and Indian rhino reserves.