Controversial plans to bring a water park attraction to Cosmeston Lakes have been given the go-ahead by councillors.

Aqua Park will temporarily move its Cardiff Bay location to the eastern side of Cosmeston Lakes because of concerns over water quality at the original site.

According to the operators, it will create around 40 local jobs.

Vale of Glamorgan Council says the attraction will open in time for the school summer holidays on Saturday 5th July - two months later than originally planned - and operate on a pilot basis until mid-September.

But the Aqua Park Group's plans have attracted strong opposition with nearly 4,000 people signing an online petition.

Aqua Park Cardiff founder Connor James said: "We're thrilled to bring Aqua Park Cardiff to Cosmeston Lakes by partnering with The Vale of Glamorgan Council."

"The country park is a fantastic venue for our exciting watersport experience, perfect for supervised adventure and family fun. With an exciting new course of obstacles, we can't wait to welcome visitors to our incredible new home."

"We are also really excited to be playing our part in giving people and families much-needed access to active outdoor experience, in a controlled and supervised environment to help boost their physical and mental well-being."

"With household budgets likely to be limited again this year, we've got an amazing offer on our Aqua Park season passes, which means people can book up to twice a week for the whole summer giving families an easy and cost-effective way to keep the kids active throughout a staycation summer."

But local resident Rachel Morgan, who started a change.org petition in March, attracting 3,958 signatures, said the water park "posed a significant and direct threat" to local wildlife.

She added: "For years, Cosmeston Lakes has been officially deemed unsafe for swimming, raising serious concerns over the safety measures underpinning the Aqua Park’s proposal."

"The detrimental effect on the wildlife, the damaging impact on local residents, and the negligence of public safety issues all contribute to the pressing need to contest the installation of the Aqua Park in our beloved sanctuary."

"The fate of our sanctuary, our home, and our community is at stake. We must ensure the diverse wildlife and its ecosystem stay preserved for future generations to appreciate, learn, and protect for years to come. It is time for us to voice our concerns and appeal to the relevant authorities to halt this project in its tracks."

Vale of Glamorgan Council says water testing has been carried out as part of work with other agencies to ensure the lake is safe for Aqua Park visitors.

A council spokesperson said: "The eastern lake at Cosmeston has previously been used for a variety of activities – including boating, canoeing and paddleboarding – and the Aqua Park will have on-site security to reduce any opportunities for anti-social behaviour – including unauthorised camping, lighting of fires, vandalism, fly-tipping."

Lifeguards will also be on duty throughout the day, both in and out of the water.

Last month, councillors were told that Aqua Park's plans to move to Cosmeston - described as temporary and at 'very short notice' - presented an opportunity to generate income for improving the park's facilities.

The attraction will include inflatable obstacle course, including climbing walls, trampolines and giant slides.

Speaking on Bro Radio's "Ask Your" programme last week, council leader Lis Burnett denied the local authority was "putting profits first".

She said, "Income is always welcome, but this is actually a lot more than that. It's about improving what's available to local people."

"When we did the 'Let's Talk About Life in the Vale' survey, people made it very clear that they needed a choice in terms of leisure and recreation and that goes for what we call 'blue space'...as well as 'green space'."

"When we had the opportunity to try something out, just for one season, we felt it would be something to give us information that we needed so we could make future decisions from an informed perspective."

"But that said...we would not move ahead without due diligence...where this would be sited is away from the conservation area, it's away from the area where water voles are being reintroduced. We would not do anything that would harm any sort of wildlife."

But Aqua Park's plans have also been criticised by the leader of the Welsh Conservative group on Vale of Glamorgan Council, in the wake of the decision to withdraw from the Green Park flag scheme.

Cllr George Carroll told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in April: "These plans are completely unsuitable for this location and have no regard for the natural environment or unique qualities that make Cosmeston so special."

“This out-of-touch Labour council should be protecting green spaces like Cosmeston, not subjecting them to overdevelopment.”

Tickets will go on sale next Monday with work on setting up the new Aqua Park at the eastern lake due to start on Monday 9th June.

Deputy council leader Bronwen Brooks said: "We are delighted to welcome the Aqua Park to the eastern lake at Cosmeston for the summer season this year."

"The Aqua Park will be another great addition to the already fantastic offer at Cosmeston Country Park as the council continues to promote sustainable tourism and leisure activities in the area."

"Consultation with residents through the council's placemaking work has shown there is appetite locally - particularly among young people - for more varied leisure activities, and the re-introduction of water-based activities at Cosmeston will help us to ensure that our country parks are for everyone."

"Trying new things is at the heart of what we do as an ambitious council, and this pilot could also enable further income opportunities for our country parks – especially in supporting the re-wilding and conservation work already underway at Cosmeston."

As part of the pilot, the council will carry out an evaluation of the water park at the end of September and decide if it will go out to tender for someone to operate an attraction on site for the next season.

Additional reporting by Ted Peskett - Local Democracy Reporter for Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan