Therme Manchester: Planners approve £250m tropical spa resort

Plans to build a £250m tropical spa resort next to the Trafford Centre have been approved.

Proposals for Therme Manchester - billed as the UK's first "wellbeing-resort" - have been backed by Trafford Council planning committee.

The 28 acre site will boast indoor swimming pools, steam rooms and saunas landscaped with plants and trees.

The German-based Therme Group said the development is scheduled to open in 2023.

The firm has a similar centre in Bucharest, Romania, which attracts 1.2m visitors a year.

It predicts the UK site, earmarked for undeveloped land in Trafford, would attract two million visitors annually.

The company added that people could pay a single fee to access the whole area or to just visit a single zone although prices have not yet been confirmed.

The central focus of the Trafford project is a two-acre wellbeing bio-diverse garden in the shape of a rose which is billed as "an evolving work of art," with petal-shaped terraces, pools and water features.

The firm said there will also be a large family zone with waterslides, a wave pool, indoor and outdoor pools, steam rooms, exotic palm tree relaxation areas.

It added activities and programmes would include water-based fitness classes and gardens with spaces for yoga, pilates and other activities.

Stelian Iacob, Senior Vice President of Therme Group Worldwide, claimed the development would "transform life for city residents and people further afield, ...with profound health and wellbeing benefits for all."

Andrew Western, Trafford Council leader said he was "delighted" the "huge scheme" was coming to Trafford with the benefits of creating thousands of jobs and bringing millions of visitors each year.