Caravan owners forced to leave a holiday park which is being developed into homes have been offered a lifeline to stay in the area.

The Martello Caravan Park off Kirby Road, Walton, is set to close at the end of the year when its lease runs out.

In its place plans have been put forward for 250 homes, a Tesco store, pub and hotel, fast food restaurant, a doctor’s surgery and care home.

Now holiday home owners who are being forced to leave the site have been offered a place at a different firm’s park in Seawick or St Osyth, to the south of Clacton.

Park Holidays UK has made the offer in a bid to keep the visitors in the area, rather than deprive the district of valuable tourism income.

The company said extra space had been created at its Seawick Holiday Park and it would transport homes, or offer a part exchange on a new caravan.

Tony Clish, company director, said: “The park, like ours, plays host to a lot of holiday home owners who have been coming to the area for many years, sometimes going back over generations of the same family.

“The last thing they want to do is to say goodbye to a region where they’ve gathered so many happy memories, and, in many cases, made long-lasting friendships with other owners.

“That’s why we’ve now cleared space at Seawick for their holiday homes, and put transporters on stand-by to make the moves within days of receiving the go-ahead.

“The last thing that we or Clacton want to see is a mass exodus of loyal holidaymakers.

“Our message to Martello’s owners is that the town doesn’t want them to leave, and that we will pull out all the stops to make sure they can return for more happy holidays next year.”

The EADT reported in August how the development plans for the Walton Martello site were on track as agreements had been reached between the main developer and partners, though Tesco has not yet confirmed an opening date for its store.