Chessington World of Adventures has said its proposed water park would be an 'affordable' option that members of the public could visit without having to stay at the resort.

A director at the attraction said the new water park would rival Center Parcs and be the first of its kind within the M25, under plans submitted to Kingston Council.

Owner Merlin Entertainments wants to expand the safari hotel at Chessington to build a water park.

It would include wave, infinity and spa pools, lazy and rapid rivers, themed water slides, a splash pad, an aqua play area, a safari 'beach', cabanas, a snack bar and a café. It would have views onto the Wanyama Reserve, which has animals including zebras and giraffes.

The council will decide on the plans on a date yet to be set, but the authority's south of the borough neighbourhood committee discussed them on 11 October.

CGI of the waterpark proposals. (Photo: Chessington World Of Adventures Resort/FaulknerBrowns Architects, provided in Kingston Council documents)

Simon Burge, strategic development director at Chessington, said the water park would help the resort to attract visitors all year round – particularly during quieter periods in winter and early spring.

He added this would give it an advantage over competitors and encourage more overnight stays.

Mr Burge said: "Theme parks need to invest in order to continue to attract visitors and to stay competitive.

"Where there are periods of no investment, we have seen significant periods where we've dropped our visitation levels to points where it has made the operation of the business questionable back in the early 2000s."

He added: "There is currently no water park within the M25 so this would be a first for London and for the Greater London borough as well – a real strong thing to aspire to, and to create an affordable option that competes with a Center Parcs offering."

While day passes are only available at Center Parcs for family and friends of visitors, Mr Burge said people could visit the water park at Chessington without needing to stay for the night by buying standalone tickets.

There would also be hotel and water park tickets available, along with hotel, water park and theme park tickets.

The water park would open from 10am to 8pm under the plans, while its maximum capacity would be 1,250 people at any given time.

Mr Burge said assessments showed there would be no significant increase in traffic levels during morning and evening peak hours. He added the resort was "confident that there won't be any noise issues" as the attraction would be mostly indoors.

CGI of the waterpark proposals. (Photo: Chessington World Of Adventures Resort/FaulknerBrowns Architects, provided in Kingston Council documents)

But residents of Charles Babbage Close, near the resort, raised concerns about the proposals.

John Webster said he and his neighbours had experienced "several narrow escapes from flooding" and that the ground floor of his home flooded in June 2016 following an overnight flash flood.

Mr Webster raised concerns there was "no reference to the possible failure of one or more of the large water tanks used to feed the water park which could lead to flooding in Charles Babbage Close" in the planning documents.

He said: "There have been a number of serious incidents in recent years involving failure of liquid-retaining structures and it should not be assumed that the water tank serving the waterpark will not be immune from rupture."

His neighbour Pat Barrie said residents lived in "constant fear whenever there's a period of continuous rain or a mass downpour".

She asked for the water park to only be approved if the developer submits plans for a "fail-safe system intended to prevent the water escaping from the development", or if the council builds a basin "of sufficient size to cope with the worst-case scenario within the catchment area – including prolonged periods of continuous heavy rainfall, flash flooding [and] water that may have escaped from the water park".

Lib Dem council leader Andreas Kirsch recommended the planning committee take residents' concerns into account and work with Chessington to consider potential mitigations. He said council officers were working to address flooding issues in the area.

Councillor Kirsch added the planning application had "a lot of merits", including providing more job opportunities for residents. He added: "Overall, taking the flooding issues and drainage issues seriously, I'm very positive about the application."