Bluestone National Park Resort has secured the green light for a restaurant development proposal and outlined plans for a £15 million investment into new lodges.

A change of use application has been approved by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Planning Authority, paving the way for Bluestone to restore Black Pool Mill into a heritage restaurant and creating a cafe and exhibition space in the adjacent former cottage and forge building.

The Black Pool Mill heritage restaurant will be open to locals and visitors to the county, as well as Bluestone resort guests, serving lunches, cream teas, and dinner throughout the year. The upscale restaurant will be able to accommodate around 160 diners, creating over 35 year-round jobs and showcasing produce from local suppliers.

Bluestone has also launched a pre-application consultation to build 80 new lodges at the resort. The proposed lodge development will be set within Bluestone’s 500-acre site.

It will provide an additional 80 environmentally sensitive, self-catered lodges. Bluestone will be investing £15m into the development, which will create and support more than 250 jobs in the construction phase as well as nearly 90 operational jobs on-site following the completion of the works.

Bluestone said the new lodges were expected to increase spending in the surrounding area by up to £1m per year.

“We are really pleased to have the application approved and are truly excited about our plans for Black Pool Mill. We will shortly begin work to restore the building, to be enjoyed once again by local people and visitors to the county. The Mill is a unique historic building that sits in a beautiful position on the Cleddau River. We are committed to breathing new life into the Mill whilst preserving and restoring its historic past,” said Liz Weedon, head of projects.

“We are also really excited about our proposed development – which cements Bluestone’s firm commitment to further investment, job creation, and supporting the wider regional economy. It has been a very challenging year for everyone; we proud and privileged to be based in Pembrokeshire and see real potential for the county to significantly benefit from staycation demand in the future,” Liz added.

The Narberth holiday resort employs more than 700 people and welcomed almost 155,000 visitors in 2019.