£55m Masterplan For Leicestershire Zoo

10 March 2015, 15:46 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

55 million pounds is going to spent improving Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire.

The site's promising to spend the money on making the enclosures for animals better and doing more conservation work.

Things will start rolling later this year with the opening of a new giraffe area, which Capital's been told will see the animals transferred from other zoos via adapted horse boxes - which have been built extra large - there's only two in the whole of Europe!

That'll be closely followed by a 4-moated island complex for gibbons, the largest children’s water-play area in Leicestershire, an extension to the orang-utan house, and a new café.  

More Visitors

It's hoped the project - which is planned over the next 20 years - will mean the current visitor figures of around 500,000 will raise to 1,000,000 - while it's hoped job opportunities will also double from 200 to 400.

Chief Exec of the zoo, Dr Sharon Redrobe added: "In 2013 tourism contributed £1.5 billion to the regional economy and we want to play our part in helping to build a thriving business and leisure culture in Leicestsire."