PLANS have been unveiled for Brokerswood Country Park to be turned into a holiday destination with 90 new ‘lodges’ to be built in the woodland near Westbury.
Holiday home company Haulfryn Group have applied for permission for the proposed rebuild.
If Wiltshire Council approves the plans it could see the park, which has been open to the public since 1968, closed to day visitors. The proposed lodges would be built to replace the miniature railway, part of the adventure playground, former museum, and parking and touring spaces.
Country park owner Sue Capon’s family has owned the park for almost 60 years.
Sue said, “After many successful years at Brokerswood Country Park we are pleased to be working with Haulfryn on this new chapter in the park’s story.
“After investing so much in protecting and preserving the park, we knew that we had to find the right business to continue my family’s legacy here. Haulfryn has an enviable reputation in the holiday accommodation business, and if approved, the application will allow them to create fantastic holiday accommodation whilst looking after the historic woodland for many years to come.”
The park, which currently has 89 touring pitches, will be changed to accommodate 20 touring pitches, 90 holiday lodges, and ten ‘camping pods’. The reception, shop, café, and washing facilities are expected to remain, alongside some other facilities. Car parking would be used to accommodate some of the lodges, and the country park could close to day visitors, which amount to around 46,000 people per year.
The new park would create a number of new jobs for the area, and plans indicate that each holiday lodge could be expected to contribute to the local economy to the tune of between £550 and £860 per week.
The new plans also include an emphasis on continuing conservation and preserving the surrounding ancient woodland. The park’s ongoing efforts have earned it recognition in botanist David Bellamy’s annual Conservation Awards for 15 consecutive years.
The woodland will continue to be managed to protect it, and ‘significant’ planting of native species is proposed in places. The developers say the scheme will provide “an opportunity to secure the long-term beneficial retention, and effective ecological management of a significant area of ancient woodland supporting a range of locally and regionally important species.”
Haulfryn CEO Bobby McGhee said, “On meeting Sue and Barry Capon it soon became very clear that we shared the same ambition for the future of Brokerswood Country Park – to maintain it as a holiday destination for people to enjoy, whilst first and foremost looking after the ecology of the site as a whole.
“In drawing up plans for the future of the site we have worked closely with the ecology officer at Wiltshire Council to ensure that the proposals have no negative impact on the wildlife.”
The plans are open to public comments until Tuesday 22nd March; Wiltshire Council is expected to decide on the application by 16th May.
To view the full plans or have your say, enter reference number 16/00587/FUL in the planning search at www.wiltshire.gov.uk
