CENTER Parcs’ latest holiday village has finally begun construction at Woburn Forest and is now scheduled to open its doors to visitors in the spring of 2014.
It will be the company’s 5th UK village and will nestle in about 400 acres of woodland owned by the Duke of Bedford to the east of Woburn.
The announcement follows the completion of all the requirements of planning consent, including the construction of a new roundabout at Millbrook, the diversion of footpaths and creation of new bridleways and cycle paths around the site.
On Tuesday, together with owners Blackstone, Center Parcs secured the £250m funding to begin the construction phase. The principal contractors for the project will be formally announced shortly and are expected to start the major infrastructure phase of the project in the next few weeks.
The project today received backing from the Prime Minister, who recognised the economic importance of Woburn Forest, David Cameron said: “Center Parcs is much loved by many and this new site is not only great news for holiday makers but great news for the economy too. This expansion and the jobs that it brings will be a real boost to growth and a sign of the increasing investor confidence that there is too.”
Center Parcs Woburn Forest will create in excess of 1,200 jobs during the construction phase alone, and then a further 1,500 jobs once the village is open, the vast majority of which will be from the local area. The village will also provide a significant economic boost to the county.
Center Parcs chief executive officer Martin Dalby said: “We are delighted to be moving on to the next stage of this project, and to have a definite opening date of Spring 2014.
“We would like to thanks Central Bedfordshire Council for their hard work and support in helping us to get to this point and we will be holding a meeting in the near future to update the local community with the construction timetable and designs in more detail”.