Center Parcs UK and Ireland [2] [3] (ранее Center Parcs UK ) — это компания, занимающаяся кратковременным отдыхом, которая управляет шестью дачными поселками в Великобритании и Ирландии , каждый из которых занимает около 400 акров (1,6 км 2 ) территории. лесной массив. Первая деревня компании открылась в Шервуд-Форест , Ноттингемшир, в 1987 году, а шестая, в Лонгфорд-Форест , Ирландия, открылась в 2019 году.
Аналогичное предприятие действует и в континентальной Европе, также под названием Centre Parcs Europe ; однако с 2001 года эти две компании находятся в отдельном владении. [1] В 2022 году компания отметила свое тридцатипятилетие.
В 1968 году [4] голландский предприниматель Пит Дерксен приобрел лесной массив недалеко от Ревера , чтобы сотрудники и клиенты его сети из 17 магазинов спортивных товаров могли отдыхать в небольших палатках. [ нужна цитация ] Парк Де Ломмерберген , [4] имел успех, и палатки были быстро заменены бунгало . [ нужна цитата ]
В июле 1987 года [5] Centre Parcs открыла свой первый курорт в Великобритании в Шервудском лесу, Ноттингемшир. В то время «Center Parcs» (под этим названием, без региональных уточнений) была единой глобальной компанией, владевшей курортами как в Великобритании, так и в континентальной Европе. В 1989 году он открыл свою вторую деревню в Великобритании в Эльведенском лесу. [4] Центр Паркс (включая деревни Шервудский лес и Эльведенский лес [6] ) был куплен в 1989 году (ныне несуществующей) компанией Scottish & Newcastle . В 1994 году он открыл свою третью деревню в Великобритании, расположенную к западу и юго-западу от первых двух и недалеко от парка приключений и сафари Лонглит.
После открытия деревень Лонглит-Форест и Уинфелл-Форест и во время переезда в 2001 году, чтобы сконцентрироваться на своем основном пивоваренном бизнесе, компании Scottish и Newcastle продали британскую часть Center Parcs венчурным капиталистам Deutsche Bank Capital Partners , и она стала отдельной компания, известная тогда как Center Parcs UK. [4] Остальная часть Center Parcs продолжала работать, став известной как Centre Parcs Europe. С тех пор обе компании работали под очень похожим брендом, но теперь ими владеют и управляют две разные компании. [ нужна цитата ] (В 2003 году S&N продала Centre Parcs Europe совместному предприятию французской компании Pierre & Vacances (P&V), которая уже владела конкурирующими курортами Gran Dorado Resorts , и немецкой инвестиционной группы DBCP, тем самым завершив продажу Center Parcs из реструктуризированное S&N.)
В декабре 2003 года Mid Ocean согласилась продать британские курорты компании Arbor Ltd за 285 миллионов фунтов стерлингов, специальному транспортному средству, созданному для размещения Centre Parcs UK [ нужна ссылка ] на альтернативном инвестиционном рынке Лондонской фондовой биржи , а в 2005 году компания перешла на рынок альтернативных инвестиций Лондонской фондовой биржи. основной листинг фондового рынка. [4] В мае 2006 года Center Parcs UK Group PLC [ нужна ссылка ] была продана The Blackstone Group за £1,1 млрд, [7] и впоследствии перерегистрирована как частная компания . В то же время по отдельной сделке Blackstone также выкупила у P&V право собственности на европейские площадки, что позволило им переименовать все европейские площадки в Center Parcs. [ нужна цитата ]
В июне 2015 года было объявлено, что Blackstone согласилась продать компанию канадской Brookfield Properties за 2,4 миллиарда фунтов стерлингов. В то время в Centre Parcs UK работало около 7500 человек, а в 2015 году они приняли около 2 миллионов гостей. [7] [8]
У Center Parcs есть деревни для короткого отдыха в пяти местах в Великобритании, шестой — в Ирландии, который открылся в 2019 году. Каждая деревня занимает около 400 акров (1,6 км 2 ) лесной местности со стандартным набором удобств [5] и имеют заполняемость около 97% в год. [8] [9]
The first Center Parcs holiday village in the United Kingdom was opened in July 1987.[5] It is located in 400 acres (1.6 km2) of woodland at Sherwood Forest, near Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire.[10][11] The site was formerly owned by the Forestry Commission, and was chosen as it was "pretty central [in the UK], it had the right maturity of trees and was in an area affected by the demise of the coal industry".[12]
In November 2006 around 30 people were infected by Cryptosporidium, causing vomiting and diarrhoea, suspected to have spread through infected faeces in a pool at the park.[13]
By 2012 it was receiving around 400,000 visitors annually, mostly from outside of Nottinghamshire.[14] It can have around 4,000 visitors at any one time.[13] The occupancy rate was over 90% in the first 30 years of operation.[12]
A £3 million refurbishment of the Aqua Sana spa finished in April 2017,[12] and a £15 million refurbishment of the Subtropical Swimming Paradise swimming facilities at the village started in September 2017.[15][12] The village employs 1,500 people, of which around 700 are housekeepers.[12]
The site originally had 609 lodges, which increased to 900 by the end of 2017.[12] It has a mixture of Woodland Lodges, New Woodland Lodges, Executive Duplex Lodges, Penthouse Duplex Lodge, Executive Apartment, Executive Lodge, New Executive Lodge, and Treehouses, with between one and four bedrooms in each.[16] Three luxury Treehouses were opened in 2010, each with four bedrooms.[10] A six-bedroom Woodland Lodge was opened in 2017, along with 27 other woodland lodges.[17]
There is a watersports lake near the Village Square,[18] although only craft hired from the Boathouse may be used upon it.[citation needed]
Two years later, in 1989, a second village was added, at Elveden Forest. It makes up a small area of Thetford Forest west of the B1106 road and near the town of Brandon in Suffolk, England. It is named after the nearby village of Elveden.
Just before 10am on 4 April 2002 a major fire destroyed the central Plaza and sports centre of Elveden Forest. One member of staff was treated for smoke inhalation, but there were no serious injuries.[19] The fire also destroyed seven bars and restaurants, a disco, some gift shops, a sports centre and a bowling alley. The damage to the forest was minimal. A subsequent inquiry found that the blaze was caused by contractors carrying out repair work on the roof of a catering block adjacent to the Plaza.[citation needed]
Elveden Forest re-opened in July 2003 after a major re-design, less susceptible to the potential spread of fire. The most dramatic difference was to the village square which was rebuilt with an open-air Mediterranean theme. The sub-tropical swimming paradise re-opened having survived the blaze; the sauna complex was changed to a Balinese theme, and a new Sports Plaza was opened. Whilst it was closed, the rest of the village was also improved including the refurbishment of the country club and the addition of a spa and new three- and four-bedroom lodges.[citation needed]
Elveden Forest has a total of 866 units of accommodation which range from 'Woodland' grade to exclusive villas and include rooms at the Lakeview Hotel. These villas and rooms can accommodate up to 4,216 guests. Villas are located in six different areas with each area mostly including every type of accommodation, but the Ash and Oak areas are predominantly made up of executive and exclusive villas. Ash was extended in 2007 to include new four-bedroom two-storey villas.[citation needed]
The third village opened in 1994. It makes up a large area of Longleat Forest in the county of Wiltshire, England, and is co-located on the site of Longleat Safari Park nearby, approximately five miles (8 km) east of Frome, Somerset, under 20 miles northwest of Shaftesbury, Dorset and a few miles west of Warminster, Wiltshire. This village has fewer lodges than Elveden Forest and Sherwood Forest due to the steep topography of the site.[citation needed]
In 1997, The Rank Organisation had opened a similar style holiday village in Whinfell Forest near Penrith, Cumbria, under the name Oasis Lakeland Holiday Village, which featured commercial restaurants and businesses such as Burger King and a Hard Rock Cafe. Bought by Center Parcs UK in 2001, who removed the commercial ventures, the site was rebranded as Center Parcs Oasis Whinfell Forest, before 'Oasis' was dropped from the name in 2006.[20] The set up at Whinfell is slightly different in that the style of accommodation is more akin to two-storey Scandinavian-style lodges, the main centre of the village is under cover, and there is no country club like at Longleat Forest, Elveden Forest and Sherwood Forest. Center Parcs have updated many Whinfell Forest lodges, and added new lodges of an identical style at their other UK villages.
Whinfell Forest is the largest of Center Parcs' five UK holiday villages, with accommodation for 4,668 people in 861 units.
Center Parcs Woburn Forest is located on the outskirts of Flitwick and Ampthill, 7–8 miles (11–13 km) from the village of Woburn in Bedfordshire in the UK. It commenced operation in July 2014 and hence it became the second Center Parcs resort off of the M1 motorway (the first being Center Parcs Sherwood Forest).
The chief executive, Martin Dalby, said that the company might add a fifth village. In December 2004, Center Parcs UK announced that it had identified a location named Warren Wood near Flitwick at Woburn, Bedfordshire. Despite the land being designated as greenbelt, the company sought planning permission and had already completed the signing of a lease on the land from its owner, the Duke of Bedford. The project was expected to cost approximately £160 million, including the construction of accommodation, indoor and outdoor facilities, the sub-tropical swimming complex, restaurants and a spa, but this has since risen to £230m. It was anticipated that, given planning permission, the project would take between three and four years to complete.[21]
In July 2006, Bedfordshire District Council turned down Center Parcs' application for planning approval on the grounds that the project breached policy safeguarding Metropolitan Green Belt land, leading the company to lodge an appeal against the decision later that year.[22] The inspector hearing the appeal recommended that the Council's decision be upheld. In September 2007 the council's decision was overturned by the government as 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", and granted outline planning permission. In November 2010 Center Parcs gained full approval for the plans of the village including designs of facilities, restaurants, shops and accommodation[23] and in 2012 secured £250 million of investment to build the new resort, to be known as Woburn Forest.
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.[24] 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 was the construction of a new roundabout, as well as the diversion of the public rights of way that cross the site.[25]
It was built by Bowmer + Kirkland and was completed in spring 2014.[26]
In a 2008 interview, Martin Dalby, the chief executive of Center Parcs UK, stated that Woburn would be the last village the company constructed in the UK and that if a sixth village was considered it would probably be located in Ireland. In September 2015, Center Parcs UK announced its intention to build a new site in County Longford, Ireland.[citation needed] Named Longford Forest, it opened in July 2019.[27]
In July 2021, the company announced its intention to construct a seventh resort located near Crawley and in the vicinity of Gatwick Airport.[28] These plans were scrapped in February 2023 following local environmental impact reviews but the company still intends to find a suitable alternate site to build their seventh village which would still be placed East from Longleat and South from Woburn.[29]
Each village has a number of different lodge types that range from one- to four-bedroom accommodation for up to 8 people, with Sherwood Forest recently opening 6-bedroom lodges for 12 people. Some larger lodges include their own games room and hot tub. Lodges are usually in small clusters and give a good degree of privacy, whilst allowing for self-catering and communal BBQs. Elveden Forest has no one-bed lodges, but instead includes the Lakeside View Hotel.[citation needed]
Guests are able to book and participate in a wide range of activities at the various villages.
More than twenty food and drink options are provided by external chains operated under concession and by internal brands.[31]
In September 2022, Center Parcs made the decision to close all of its UK locations for the funeral of Elizabeth II. This included moving all check-ins scheduled for Monday 19 September to the following day, and asking that all guests already present vacate the site by 10am and not return until 10am on Tuesday.[32] The company later partially reversed this decision, after widespread ridicule and derision by the UK media and customer complaints. It later clarified that guests may remain on site, but that they would be prevented from leaving their accommodation on the day of the funeral. This statement was later amended, with guests told they'd be able to walk around the sites on that date if they wished. However, guests due to arrive on the Monday were still to be denied access to the site, causing disruption to travel plans for many. [33]