| Type | Holiday villages |
|---|---|
| Industry | Leisure |
| Founded | 1 June 1987 |
| Headquarters | One Edison Rise, New Ollerton, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Number of locations | 4 resorts (1 more in building/planning stage) |
| Area served | Great Britain |
| Key people | Martin Dalby (Chief Executive) |
| Products | Short breaks & family holidays UK |
| Website | www.centerparcs.co.uk |
Center Parcs is a holiday and recreation company which operates four holiday villages in the United Kingdom, with each village covering about 400 acres (1.6 km2) of woodland. The first park opened in 1987. A similar enterprise operates in continental Europe under the same name; however, the two companies are separately owned. They are celebrating 25 years in 2012.
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The first Center Parcs holiday village in the United Kingdom opened in 1987 near Rufford, in Nottinghamshire and was named Sherwood Forest. It was well received by the press and the visitors who took to the fact there was something refreshingly different.
In 1989, Center Parcs opened its second village, Elveden Forest, near Brandon, in Suffolk. In April 2002 a fire destroyed the central plaza and sports centre of the village. There were no fatalities, but one member of staff was treated for smoke inhalation. In the summer of 2003 after extensive rebuilding, which saw the plaza replaced with a new open village square, the village reopened. Whilst closed the rest of the village was also improved including the refurbishment of the country club and the addition of the Aqua Sana and new three and four bedroom lodges.
In 1994 Center Parcs opened its third village, Longleat Forest, near Warminster in Wiltshire. The village had slightly fewer villas than Elveden and Sherwood due to the steep topography of the site.
In 2001, Center Parcs took over a similar set up holiday park near Penrith at which originally opened in 1997 under the name Oasis Lakeland Holiday Village. The village was rebranded as Center Parcs Oasis Whinfell Forest but in 2006 the 'Oasis' was dropped from the name and is called Whinfell Forest.[1] The set up at Whinfell Forest is slightly different. The style of accommodation at the Whinfell Forest is different from the previous village with Scandinavian-style lodges. The main center of the village is under cover which differs from the open-air village squares at Sherwood and Elveden and Longleat's smaller covered Plaza. The decision to add Whinfell this to the Center Parcs portfolio was bold especially considering Center Parcs' initial criticism of the village when it first opened. However Center Parcs avoided the costly and time-consuming process of constructing a village from scratch. Whinfell Forest lacks a country club, as does Longleat.
In 2001 during a move to concentrate on their core brewing business, Scottish and Newcastle sold the UK side of Center Parcs to venture capitalists. It was announced on 4 December 2003 that the then owners, Mid Ocean, would sell the UK resorts to Arbor for £285 million. Arbor was a company set up specifically to purchase Center Parcs, and float it on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market.
In May 2006 Center Parcs UK Group Plc was sold to Blackstone Group, an American private investment company. Subsequently Center Parcs was delisted as a plc and re-registered as a private company, a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group.
During the sale, future growth of Center Parcs was hinted at by the Chief Executive, Martin Dalby. He said that the company might add a fifth village at some time in the future, but was also looking towards organic growth through investment in new facilities at the existing villages. Late in 2004 it was announced that the fifth village would be built on designated greenbelt near Woburn in Bedfordshire. Following the sale to The Blackstone Group, focus was shifted from growth, to investment in the existing villages and plans for the future village were put on hold.
All resorts on the European main land are owned and operated by a Dutch company called Center Parcs Europe, which is itself owned by Pierre et Vacances, a French holiday company. Centerparcs Europe and Centerparcs UK only share history, name and logo.
| Facility | Usage |
|---|---|
| Arrivals Lodge | Each Village has an Arrivals Lodge situated on the main drive at Sherwood, Elveden and Longleat and slightly east of the Village entrance at Whinfell. Guests are directed here for guest check-in from 10am on their arrival day. |
| Security Lodge | Each village has a Security lodge staffed by Security 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Security staff help with directing traffic to the Arrivals Lodge on arrival, identify all visitors to the Village, staff barriers and assist Arrivals Lodge staff on changeover days. They also staff the emergency phone number given to guests to call in the event of an emergency. |
| Subtropical Swimming Paradise | The village swimming complex complete with wave pool, slides, wild river rapids, outdoor pool, lazy river, flumes, children's pool and food outlet (The Lagoon Bar). |
| Village Square (Sherwood, Elveden & Longleat) | Open air hub of restaurants and shops as well as and facilities such as a launderette, Guest Services and medical centre |
| Village Centre (Whinfell) / Plaza (Longleat) | Covered hub of restaurants and shops as well as and facilities such as a launderette, Guest Services and medical centre |
| Jardin des Sports (Sherwood, Longleat) / Sports Plaza (Whinfell, Elveden) | Contains most of the village indoor sports facilities which typically include squash courts, badminton courts, pool and snooker tables, gymnasium, table tennis, golf simulator, indoor climbing wall and aerobics studio. There is also a themed restaurant, a sportswear shop and a newsagents |
| Boathouse | For all water based activities on the watersports lake including canoeing, fishing, pedalos, windsurfing and raft building |
| Aqua Sana | The village spa area. Spa area includes various rooms such as "Indian Blossom Room", "Greek Herbal Room", "Tyrolean Sauna", "Zen Garden" - as well as a central pool with jacuzzi-style area at one end. |
| Timeout Clubhouse | The village crèche |
| Leisure Bowl and House of Games | A tenpin bowling alley and coin operated arcade video games |
| Country Club | Contains additional restaurant and leisure facilities at some villages. |
Falconry, archery, pool and snooker tournaments, rollerblading, aerobics, pilates, yoga, t'ai chi, badminton, tennis, table tennis, diving, paintball, Laser Clay Shooting, sports quiz, art class, creative writing, woodland walks, paint pots for your patio, cycling, ten-pin bowling, lawn bowls and boules, go-karting, climbing, flu-flu golf and a variety of activities such as abseiling and high rope assault course, plus many more depending on the village.
Each village has a number of different villa types that range from 1 to 4 bedrooms:
Having built a strong brand in the UK Center Parcs had chosen to expand and construct a fifth village. This has caused opposition from local communities whom seem to view the potential villages as an attack on their recreational space and do not believe that it will effectively inject cash and jobs in to an area.
In December 2004, Center Parcs announced that it had identified a location for a fifth UK site, at Warren Wood near Woburn, Bedfordshire. Despite the site being designated as Greenbelt 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 expected to cost approximately £160 million, including the construction of accommodation, indoor and outdoor facilities, sub-tropical swimming complex, restaurants and a spa. It is anticipated that, given planning permission, the project would take between three and four years to complete.
In July 2006, Bedfordshire District Council turned down Center Parcs' application for planning approval, leading the company to lodge an appeal against the decision later that year.[2] In September 2007 the Council's decision was overturned by the government, and outline planning permission for the Warren Wood site was granted by the Secretary of State. In November 2010 Center Parcs gained full approval for the plans of the village including designs of facilities, restaurants, shops and accommodation.[3] Construction was delayed and is now due to begin in late 2010/early 2011. The fifth site is expected to open in summer 2013.[4] Interestingly[says who?] Center Parcs has opted to construct accommodation in a Scandinavian design similar to the lodges at Whinfell Forest rather than of its own design used at Sherwood, Elveden and Longleat.
In an interview Martin Dalby, the CEO of Center Parcs UK, stated that the new village near Woburn would be the last village the company constructed in the UK and that any further village would probably be located in Ireland (Northern or Republic).[5]
Center Parcs UK consists of the following 4 resorts (with one more in the planning and construction stage):
| Resort / County | City / Village | Region | Opened | Notes |
| Center Parcs Sherwood Forest | Rufford | Nottinghamshire | 1987 | - |
| Center Parcs Elveden Forest | Brandon | Suffolk | 1989 | Closed between April 2002 and June 2003 for reconstruction after fire |
| Center Parcs Longleat Forest | Warminster | Wiltshire | 1994 | - |
| Center Parcs Whinfell Forest | Penrith | Cumbria | 1997 | Added to the Center Parcs portfolio in 2001, previously owned by the Rank Group |
| Center Parcs Woburn Forest | Woburn | Bedfordshire | 2013 | If funding can be secured, construction may commence in 2011 with opening expected in summer 2013 |
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