Telford Town Park ready to welcome new wildlife park
It is full steam ahead with plans for a major new tourist attraction in the heart of Telford.
Scott Adams, owner of Telford's Exotic Zoo, and Shaun Davies, leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, said they are hugely excited about the prospect of what the visitor attraction can do for Telford's town centre.
Earlier this month the Exotic Zoo was given planning permission for a new Telford Town Park premises, on a council-owned site.
Mr Adams said they were looking forward to the future and that work would begin on the site over the next couple of months.
He said: "It is so exciting because now we are getting to spend a bit more time up there and seeing the nooks and crannies, the woodland area, it is hugely exciting to see how we are going to start making the zoo.
"At the moment it is just a big blank canvas so it will be really exciting for us to see it start to develop."
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He added: "Now we know we are definitely moving what we are really excited about is we are in talks with the town park about how we can work as a team for a destination day offer for people. We want to work with the park to make Southwater a destination day out, that's a really important thing for us."
Councillor Davies said the Exotic Zoo would be a major addition to the town park as the borough looks to capitalise on a potential increase in 'staycations' as a result of the pandemic.
He said: "Clearly we were really sad to hear they were closing the Priorslee site and I know there were lots of other regional locations trying to attract the zoo to them, so we were delighted to secure the exotic zoo which is very much a Telford & Wrekin home grown product.
"With it right in the heart of the town park it will really complement the offer we have for out families and residents. They can go to Southwater, the town park, wonderland, and now the zoo really adds to the experience in the heart of town.
"Given where we are with covid, we are expecting a significant increase in stop-over staycations and day trips and we want to be in a position in Telford & Wrekin as a place for people right across the country to come to, and I think we now as a borough have some great attractions, from Ironbridge and Hoo Farm to the town park."
