‘Great news for the business, great news for the local economy, and great news for jobs’
Center Parcs CEO says its new £350m holiday village will be a place for our families to make happy memories
The boss of Center Parcs has pledged to be ‘good neighbours’ as plans have been unveiled for a £350m site in West Sussex.
The holiday firm has identified more than 500 acres of woodland in Worth near Crawley which it wants to develop into a park with hundreds of lodges.
Martin Dalby, CEO of Center Parcs, said the ‘massive’ investment in the area will create 1,500 permanent jobs, boost youth employment and promote biodiversity.
Up to 900 lodges could be built in Worth with the development taking at least five years to complete, subject to planning permission being granted.
Mr Dalby, 59, said: “People won’t really know we’re there.
“We will be good neighbours to everybody as we always are.
“It will just be good for everyone.”
The new jobs created by the development will be yearround and permanent, Mr Dalby said.
He added: “Center Parcs is a special company.
“We’re like a big family. The majority of our employees are very proud to be involved in what we do.”
Mr Dalby said plans for the new sites have been in the pipeline for three-anda-half years, long before the coronavirus led to a boom in staycations.
And he insisted the development will boost the local economy.
He added: “It’s going to benefit the local economy massively.
“We will be working with local business and suppliers where possible.
“We will be doing everything and anything possible to make the development as sustainable as we can.”
New trees will be planted on the site and care will be taken to improve biodiversity. “Young children who come from the towns and cities – they have never seen any of this stuff before,” he added.
A planning application for the site is likely to be submitted next year, he said.
And the development is ‘massively exciting’, Mr Dalby added.
“It’s great news for the business, it’s great news for the local economy, it’s great news for jobs.”
He said the company’s focus is on short break holidays in a ‘forest setting where nature is really important to the holiday’.
Mr Dalby added: “It’s a place for families to come together for a few days.
“Just make some really nice memories – we’re about giving people a fantastic holiday. The guests just love it.”
Mr Dalby, from Harrogate, said the parks offer a trafficfree ‘safe space’ for families to explore nature, ride bicycles and swim.
He added: “It’s got all the ingredients.
“It is really exciting to have identified a potential site for another Center Parcs village in the UK.
“The proposal we will be submitting will create a significant number of jobs and bring major benefits to the local and national economy.
“The announcement marks the first step of a long journey and there is still a huge amount of work to be done before we can submit a planning application.
“As a business, we take our responsibility to the local community extremely seriously and look forward to sharing our plans as they progress.”
Center Parcs say their villages are sympathetically designed to blend into the existing landscape, with no visual impact on the surrounding area, and the company is committed to both protecting and enhancing the forests in which their holiday villages are located.
Sustainability is at the heart of the Center Parcs ethos and the new village will be constructed and operated in the most sustainable way possible, a spokesman said.
Brad Hyler is managing partner and head of European real estate at Center Parcs’ parent company, Brookfield Asset Management. He added: “Center Parcs is the destination of choice for short breaks in the UK and as owners we are excited to support its expansion with plans for the sixth UK holiday village.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the Center Parcs team on delivering this exciting development and the economic benefits it will bring to the local area.”
● Readers have taken to this newspaper’s Facebook page to react to an announcement from the holiday firm that it hopes to build a new site in Worth.
Di Eriksen added: “Great news for the local community.”
And Keith Welfare said: “Good – hurry up and build it.”
Chris Andrews said the site would be a ‘great benefit to locals’. He added: “We’ve spoken to staff at other sites who love working for Center Parcs, for example, they provide free buses to get employees to the site and will work around school hours.
“Wildlife thrives at their other sites as well.”
Joyce Johnson said: “It will be good for Crawley, creating jobs after they have been so hard hit.”
Some people raised concerns that the proposed development could have ecological consequences.
Sue Baxendale said: “Nowhere for the flowers, animals, insects to live any more.”
We will be working with local business and suppliers where possible
MARTIN DALBY Center Parcs CEO