New £23million woodland holiday park with lodges, treehouses and play zones set to open in England

08/14/2024 06:47 PM

A NEW £23million woodland holiday park with lodges, treehouses and play zones is set to open in the UK.

Forest Holidays, who submitted the plans for the project, hopes to build 75 timber holiday cabins on 140 acres in a Derbyshire woodland at Farley Moor.

If approved the holiday park would feature a shop, cafe, outdoor play area and 249 parking spaces.

The whopping £23million project will be able to host 185 people with cabin sizes varying from one to five beds along with treehouse rooms.

Forest Holidays plans to suspend all cabins above the ground on steel pillars to protect the forest floor.

The cabins would be a flat-pack design reducing the need for heavy construction equipment.

A statement from the applicants says: “Forest Holidays have a track record of promoting high quality ecologically sensitive cabin developments within managed woodland estates and are a longstanding preferred partner of Forestry England.

“A proposed development of 75 timber cabins and associated infrastructure is proposed at Farley Moor, which will supplement the company's existing offerings throughout the UK and which will deliver multiple social, environmental and ecological benefits to the location.

“The holiday offering is one that is entirely low-key which respects the woodland and its setting.”

Forest Holidays claims that the new scheme would create 48 jobs, rising to 57 jobs within three years, according to an economic impact report.

The report added that an eye-watering £1.4million extra would be generated by tourists, rising to £1.7million in three years.

Derbyshire Dales District Council is set to decide in the coming months.

Holidaying in the UK has grown more popular as families seek out more affordable domestic getaways.

Work is underway to build a lavish holiday park in the Afan Valley in Wales.

The new £250million holiday park, which is known as Wildfox Resorts, was first announced in 2022.

Work began on the site back in May 2023, with the team behind the development closing footpaths and installing temporary fencing around the site for public safety.

Unfortunately, work on the site was short-lived, as operations ceased just months later in August 2023.

However, the company charged with bringing the ambitious project to life confirmed with Wales Online that work had re-started in February 2024.

Construction work is due to take place in stages, with the site slated to open to holidaymakers in 2027.

Once the new Wildfox adventure holiday resort in the Afan Valley is open, it is expected to feature 570 lodges as well as 130 apartments and rooms.

There will be plenty of outdoor activities on the site too, including wild swimming, mountain biking, hiking, canyoning, and bouldering as well as two state-of-the-art zip wires.

An indoor waterpark, spa and shopping plaza will also be constructed on the site.

It is thought that the Afan Valley Park will be the first of three proposed resorts in the UK.

Located seven miles from the town of Port Talbot, the new holiday park is expected to generate thousands of jobs in the area.

Bridgend Council leader, Cllr Huw David, previously said: “This hugely ambitious development will be a catalyst for a new wave of employment and tourism in the south Wales valleys.

“The resort is set to employ around 1,000 people in addition to the jobs that will be generated during its construction phase, and with access routes running through both the Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend County Borough areas, it will offer plenty of supplier, training and investment opportunities.”

It comes after a lesser-known holiday park was labelled the best in the UK, beating bigger and more established names to spot.

And a new holiday park is set to open in the UK with enough space for hundreds of guests.