Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek is plotting a major investment into its facilities with replacement tanks and a seal hospital.

A pre-application enquiry has been submitted by The SeaLife Trust to improve its old facilities with the aim to develop the popular attraction, to better accommodate the resident animals, improve rehabilitation capacity, and provide an improved visitor experience.

The cost of this investment is expected to range from £1million to £1.5million transforming the existing facilities for animals and visiting guests.

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary has been developing a masterplan to address their short, medium, and long-term goals in Gweek. They are aiming to address:

How the new facilities could look. Designs by Kay Elliott Architects.

• Size of the pools
• Structural Issues with existing pool infrastructure
• Advancements in animal husbandry
• Advances in life support system technology
• New Hospital facilities
• Improved tourism offer and guest experience

The SeaLife Trust said in the pre-application that the existing pools are currently experiencing structural issues including leaks. The tanks are drained and patched but this only offers a short-term solution to the age-related issues.

The trust added:

"In addition, the existing pool design falls short of the current animal husbandry standards and Guidelines for 'Management of Marine Mammals Under Human Care (July 2018)' and the Sanctuary's aim, to exceed minimum standards where possible. In addition, the existing life support system will benefit from wholesale improvement, offering protein skimming to allow coliforms to be removed quicker, improving animal health and water visibility for seals and visitors.

"The topography of the site, which slopes steeply as it meets the Helford River, can be used to great benefit for the visitor experience. This change in level allows visitors to experience two distinctly different characteristics of the seals behaviour by providing more, dedicated underwater viewing opportunities, with improved water visibility, and dedicated on and off show areas at the upper level significantly improving the public view and the guest experience."

How the new facilities could look. Designs by Kay Elliott Architects.

The SeaLife Trust will now wait for a response on the pre-application from the planning officer.