Holder Mathias designs £250 million Bedfordshire holiday venue

Holder Mathias is set to design a new Center Parcs in Bedfordshire after the leisure company secured funding for its fifth site.

The £250 million project in the Woburn Forest, for which planning consent has been secured, is backed by Center Parcs owner Blackstone. It will include indoor sports facilities, a swimming pool, conference centre, restaurants and a 75-bed hotel.

Peter Gamble, managing director of Holder Mathias, said: “We are extremely excited about being involved in this project, one of the largest construction projects in 2012, representing a major investment in the UK leisure industry as well as a significant boost to the UK economy.

“We have been careful to ensure the impact of the two central buildings on the surrounding countryside is minimised, designing them to fit into a strict three-dimensional envelope so that they cannot be seen from outside the site and so that, despite their size, they settle into the woodland.”

Construction is scheduled to last two years and the new venue is set to open in spring 2014.