A SPECTACULAR £20million wildlife habitat will be built on the Steart Peninsula near Bridgwater after planners gave the scheme the thumbs-up.

The development will involve deliberate flooding of large swathes of land to create a new 488-acre visitor attraction on the peninsula, north east of Stockland Bristol, near Bridgwater.

Sedgemoor District Council economy chief Cllr Anne Fraser said: “This is really exciting news. The scheme will be a great asset to the area, not only for birds but for people to get out and about and admire the natural beauty of this landscape.

“Through careful design and planning, there will be considerable flood defences built in to the scheme in a natural and complementary way.”