Center Parcs Building, Opening & Beyond - Lee Carpenter

Center Parcs Woburn Forest (formerly Center Parcs Warren Wood) is the newest holiday village of Center Parcs UK, located on the outskirts of Flitwick and Ampthill in Bedfordshire in the UK. It commenced operation in July 2014.

Planning application

In December 2004, Center Parcs announced that it had identified a location for a fifth UK site, at Warren Wood near Flitwick, Bedfordshire. It would be seeking planning permission and had already completed the signing of a lease on the land from its owner, the Duke of Bedford. The project was at first expected to cost approximately £160 million, including the construction of accommodation, indoor and outdoor facilities, sub-tropical swimming complex, restaurants and a spa but this has since risen to £230m.

Planning permission for this build was initially refused by Mid Bedfordshire District Council on the grounds that the project breached policy safeguarding Metropolitan Green Belt land. The company appealed against the decision, and the inspector hearing the appeal recommended that the Council's decision be upheld. However, Secretary of State Hazel Blears overruled the inspector's advice. She acknowledged that the scheme breached both local and national policies on safeguarding Green Belt, but argued that "in this particular case, the economic and employment benefits of the proposal, when taken together with the ecological and biodiversity benefits... constitute very special circumstances and are sufficient to clearly outweigh the harm to Green Belt".

Before Center Parcs could start construction, there were a number of planning conditions that had to be satisfied, most notably the improvement of local road junctions to allow smooth access to the Village. They also had to submit a local employment strategy, local purchasing policy and a forest and ecology management plan.

The planning permission has been approved for the development.

This represents final approval of the detailed designs of buildings and landscape as well as local sourcing, employment strategies and green travel plan. The next stage of the project will be the construction of a new roundabout, as well as the diversion of the public rights of way that cross the site.

The plans

The site will be slightly smaller than its other four sites at 375 acres (1.52 km²). It will include:

• 625 villas, Possible future expansion on an additional 75 Lodges.
• A 75 bedroom hotel will accompany the lodges.
• There will be six Spa Suites.
• A 17,000m² lake in the heart of the village.
• Aqua Sana & 6 bedroom spa accommodation
• Two main centres with restaurants, retail outlets and Subtropical Swimming Paradise
• 1400 space car park
• Activity areas
• Seven miles of road ways have been created.
• 1,800m of public rights of way and bridleways have been diverted.
• Two nearby junctions are being turned into roundabouts: Millbrook, which was completed in 2011 and Steppingley, which was completed in 2013.
• This is a £250 million development, one of the largest leisure projects in the UK.

Post-planning and Construction

In March 2012, Center Parcs announced that it had met all requirements for work to start and that it had secured the £250 million funding required for construction of the site. The company also announced the official "Woburn Forest" title for the site and set the opening date of the new holiday park as spring 2014.

Vote of Thanks from Rotarian Richard Gage

Lee Carpenter, Deputy General of Centre Parcs at Woburn gave a behind the scenes view of the planning , construction, opening and something of the future of the Company's latest Holliday Village in the UK.

10 years in planning and 2 years in build, with and extension in 2017, the Village now hosts 3,500 guests with in excess of a 96% occupancy rate employing 1,700 staff.

The accommodation ranges from the comfortable to the luxurious with so many activities in the new Tree Lodges for many guests not to feel the need to explore everything else on hand.

The Company supports the local community where it can together with local charitable work, in particular the Keech Hospice in Luton.

Centre Parcs obviously believes it has a winning formula as it is about to commence their first Holiday Village in Eire.