Thursday, October 15, 2015

News: Gulliver's Rother Valley plans on show

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Further details have been revealed as Gulliver's Family Theme Parks continues discussions with Rotherham Council and begins consultation with residents regarding its proposed £37m resort on the Pithouse West site in Rotherham.

Rotherham Council had made the "minded to" decision to enable them to negotiate the completion of the sale of 333 acres of greenbelt land located to the north of Rother Valley Country Park.

Gulliver's, the operators of theme parks in Warrington, Matlock Bath and Milton Keynes has developed a masterplan for the first of their sites in the UK to encompass all their major family entertainment elements in one location with new attractions exclusive to Rotherham. The development is expected to be funded through business profits with no borrowing requirements.

When it is up and running there are likely to be 400 jobs at the park, a number that was likely to increase. Hundreds of jobs would be created through the construction period which is set to be sustainable and done by in-house and local suppliers.

The proposals for a year round destination aimed at 2 - 13 year olds include a theme park hub, woodland adventure centre, ecology and education centre, camping, up to 300 lodges, a hotel and holiday village.

A series of public consultation events have been held in the borough this week.

Expected to be built in four or five phases over 12 years, the theme park would come first and further developments would follow afterwards.

Working with planning consultants at Smith Jenkins, the masterplan shows that the main entrance would be from the A57 adjacent to the Beighton Link Business Park and Elmwood Farm pub.

At peak time the development could attract between 21,000 and 25,000 visitors every week. Indicative figures show that in the off season this could drop to between 1,000 and 5,000 visitors per week. Up to 2,844 car parking spaces are being proposed.
Close to the main entrance, the theme park would occupy the north-western corner of the site. The masterplan shows attractions and rides including Gulliver's Castle, a log flume, rapids, pirate ship, mine train, JCB zone and adventure play areas.

Gulliver's Glade Adventure Park is in the south-western corner and includes rock climbing, a mud slide, a toboggan run and treetop rides.

The centre of the site sees plans for a castle hotel with 50 bedrooms, lodges and tents. A Wilderness area to the north includes a second hotel with 90 bedrooms and a spa, plus further lodges.

Other zones include Gulliver's Jurassic Safari Park with themed lodges; Gulliver's Gears Theme Park with motorbike coasters and a drop tower; Gulliver's Farm Park; and the Dream Village concept offering specially designed and adapted accommodation for seriously and terminally ill children and children with special needs.

Other features include a mountain bike trail, a maize maze, Segway track, space for "glamping," open and group camping zones close to the country park and a pet resort. A number of areas on the former site of Brookhouse Colliery have been reserved for future expansion.

The development is designed to enhance the adjacent Rother Valley Country Park and access, such as the Trans-Pennine Trail, remains in place through the Pit House West site.

Applicants estimate that Gulliver's Valley will provide an overall economic impact £36.66m from construction and total annual operating net economic impact on the local economy of £11.6m - £6.3m from visitors to the new attractions and facilities and £5.2m from additional staying visitors.

Julie Dalton, managing director of Gulliver's, gave a presentation to local councillors earlier this month outlining the proposals.

Dalton explained that the purchase of the property was contingent on planning permission being granted. A planning application would be submitted at the end of 2015 and dependent on the outcome, construction would start as soon as possible.

Gulliver's valley website

Images: Gulliver's

2 comments:

Unknown June 1, 2016 at 11:29 AM  

Get the roads sorted out first before you build anything.

Anonymous,  June 1, 2016 at 11:30 AM  

building a massive venue like this in a small village area with small roads, what are you thinking about. OH MONEEEY.

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