A sprawling caravan park with 332 holiday homes is set to grow by almost a third if councillors agree on a recommendation to approve its expansion.

Planning officers at Canterbury City Council believe the increase in numbers at the Alberta complex in Seasalter will attract more visitors to the district and boost the local economy.

So they are backing a bid for an extra 91 caravans on a neighbouring plot of land on the other side of the railway, opposite Lucerne Drive and next to Bridge Country & Leisure Park.

The recommendation comes despite the RSPB lodging an objection over fears the expansion will cause "significant effects" to the thriving bird population at the Seasalter Local Nature Reserve.

Park Holidays, the nationwide firm operating Alberta, submitted plans for the extra mobile homes - as well as a new playground area and sports zone - in 2019.

It originally wanted 143 new pitches, but that number has since been whittled down to 91.

The caravans will be occupied strictly for holiday purposes on a 10-and-a-half-month operating season between March and January.

The proposal has sparked fears that, combined with the huge Cleve Hill solar farm approved on the opposite side of the nature reserve, Seasalter's allure as a bird haven will be put at great risk.

The levels are one of the prime spots in the UK to see the "vulnerable" curlew, which is Europe's largest wading bird.

While the the proposed expansion does not touch the neighbouring reserve, the RSPB says birds regularly forage on the land earmarked for development.

Yet the applicant says there will be a buffer between the caravan park and land used by birds.

Natural England is satisfied with the proposals, and council officers say the "the proposed static caravans and associated development would not encroach into the open countryside or appear isolated within the landscape".

They go on to say the development will have "no likely significant effect" on the neighbouring reserve, and state the scheme "would attract more visitors to the district, which would have benefits for the local economy".

Park Holidays previously said how the expansion is in response to the "huge and unprecedented demand" for staycation holidays since the pandemic struck.

In total, 13 objections have been lodged, with critics raising concerns over habitat loss, increased traffic and noise and flooding problems.

Councillors will debate and decide on the proposals at a city council planning committee meeting tonight (Thursday).

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