A major children’s outdoor leisure attraction set to be built on the outskirts of Chester is expected to bring around 300,000 visitors a year to the area.
Plans to transform a 76 acre site at Bickley, near Malpas, into a major woodland family attraction look likely to be given the go-ahead by Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning committee next week after the decision was deferred at an earlier planning meeting.
Based on a series of adventure books by children’s author Tom Blofeld, BeWILDerwood would be specifically aimed at children from the age of two and feature treehouses, outdoor play structures, a lake for boat rides and several accompanying buildings - as a sister site to an attraction of the same name in the Norfolk Broads.
The scheme would create 25 full-time and 155 part-time jobs and also feature a 500-strong car park, as well as overspill parking for a further 850 vehicles.
It originally went before the planning committee on March 7 but members expressed concern that a number of outstanding issues had not been addressed. A proposal to defer consideration to enable further information to be provided was carried by ten votes to zero, with one abstention.
Since then, the applicant has provided additional supporting information around areas such as the scheme’s layout, landscaping, environmental issues and transport for staff, and made minor amendments to the proposals, as well as carrying out re-consultation.
A spokesperson for Savills (UK), who have prepared both a planning statement and design and access statement in support of the project, said: “BeWILDerwood has one successful site in Norfolk and has been researching sites for a second adventure.
“An ideal site has been identified in the woodlands known as Moss Wood to the north of Bickley, Malpas, within the ownership of the Cholmondeley Estate.
“BeWILDerwood is an award-winning adventurous play environment for children, with a strong emphasis on healthy outdoor family leisure, education and environmental awareness. The proposed adventure would be set in circa 20 hectares of woodland with play structures, treehouses, boardwalks and boats, plus a strong storytelling element based around several published books about the mythology of the Boggles and Twiggles who secretly live in the woods.
“The key elements of the adventure include a system of aerial and ground woodland walks linking a series of magical treehouses, picnic and storytelling areas, refreshments, kiosks and toilets, plus adjoining car parking.”
Ahead of the May meeting, a report prepared by planning officers has recommended that the BeWILDerwood at Bickley scheme should be approved.
