A plan for a "luxury lodge" caravan park in countryside to the west of Highworth could revitalise the town's tourist economy - and could even bring more money to Swindon.

That's the hope of the team behind a proposal to install more than 30 wooden static caravans or lodges on a field now used for horses to create a holiday destination.

If approved, the proposal will be marketed as Cotswold Gateway Park, aimed at an upmarket clientele looking for some rural tranquility.

Roger McCabe is the businessman behind the scheme. He said: "As a local Swindon man from humble beginnings, I hope our Cotswold Gateway tourism project can help new jobs be created and help the Highworth community to preserve the economic heart of this great hill-top town.”

Mr McCabe's planning agent, Chris Parker, said: "This will be an upmarket site. There is a great demand for holidays in the British countryside, and that demand is already exceeding supply and will only get bigger.

"A lot of people living in the south east in particular want holidays in the Cotswolds, and Highworth is close to the edge of the Cotswolds and really is a gateway to them.

"We are aiming the park at people who want to come to the countryside and go walking, and cycling in nature.

"The impact of the lodges will be very low - nine percent of the land will have lodges on it and we'll be planting lots of natural hedging, so the visual impact will be low. It takes about a day to get one of the lodges on site - they come in two halves on a track and are bolted together, so the impact of the construction is minimal."

The pair express hopes the park could help the economy of Highworth - Mr Parker said: "There's little tourist offer in Highworth. The park will create about 20 new jobs and with the money that visitors will be looking to spend, we think it will have a very positive effect on the town - its pubs and coffee shops and restaurants. Families with teenagers will also be able to make a trip to the outlet village and Steam and other attractions in Swindon."

The road to the site, Pentylands Lane is a rough, single lane road, but the application says the new park will generate just one additional car every seven to ten minutes during the day, and a "negligible" increase at night.

The plans for the park are available on Swindon Borough Council's website using the reference S/18/1822. Comments should be made by Sunday January 6.