Pictured above: How the proposed £2 million clubhouse will look

Avon Estates Ltd, which owns and operates three holiday parks alongside the River Avon in Stratford, has submitted plans to build a multi-million pound clubhouse at the heart of the parks overlooking the river.

A planning application submitted to Stratford on Avon District Council proposes to replace six existing buildings with a £2 million, two-storey clubhouse. The project has already had the green light from the Environment Agency.

Director Nic Allen explained: "The River Avon is our greatest asset and our greatest liability. The river is what draws visitors to our parks, but it also brings occasional floods and as a company we are always striving to eliminate the disruption and damage caused.

"This exciting project has been has been in the making for many years.

"After five years of careful preparation and extensive negotiation with the Environment Agency, we are finally ready to build a new clubhouse to replace all the others. We intend to create probably the best clubhouse in the country for holidaymakers, thousands of whom stay as guests at our Stratford Holiday Parks every year - bringing hundreds of thousands of pounds into the local economy."

The new clubhouse will have a floorspace of 18,400 sq ft and its footprint broadly replaces that of the six existing buildings which will be demolished.

It will be located at the heart of the three parks, Riverside Park, Avon Park and Rayford Park with access from both the Tiddington Road and Warwick Road.

It will provide facilities including a bar and restaurant taking advantage of the panoramic river and countryside views, a head office for the company and further visitor facilities to include a children's games room, shop and information centre.

The project will initially create some five jobs but Nic Allen is hopeful that diversification into the conference, seminars, weddings and trade fairs market will help boost turnover in the winter off-season and create further jobs.

"We regard this new clubhouse as a contribution to the ambition of World Class Stratford and a major new addition which will improve the visitor experience of Stratford-upon-Avon," said Mr Allen.

The new clubhouse will have direct access to the River Avon Taxi Service operated by the company and the Millennium footbridge which was built and funded solely by Avon Estates Ltd and opened by Matthew Pinsent CBE in 2001.

"Its balconies will provide fantastic views of the River Avon and Welcombe Hills and perhaps most importantly the building is raised on columns to prevent flood damage.

"Under one roof we can provide all the recreational facilities our visitors expect, which will be a particular asset on rainy days, which Stratford gets occasionally in the summer," he said.

"The tourism industry has to move with the times and holiday makers' changing tastes. He added that the intention was to create a beautiful building which was the very antithesis of the dour facilities commonly found on caravan sites, and those the proposed development will replace on the parks.

"Given its riverside location we wanted the design to have a nautical theme - in this case its gabled roofs reflect an upturned boat hull. The timber log construction is a traditional material and will complement the boathouse aesthetic."

Avon Estates Ltd's three caravan parks combine to be the largest visitor accommodation facility in Stratford-upon-Avon and in 2008 received around 80,000 visitors. During a Bank Holiday weekend the sites will accommodate about 1,500 guests.

Avon Estates Ltd currently employs 28 members of staff and has an annual turnover in the region of £3 million.