Joint venture signed to develop UK’s first fully serviced national park gateway
Specialist developer Milligan has signed a joint venture with landowner Birchall Properties as part of plans to develop the UK’s first fully serviced national park gateway, consented on the eastern boundary of the Peak District.
Working with Chesterfield Borough Council, the Peak District National Park Authority and the University of Derby, the Gateway at PEAK will be part of the 300-acre PEAK Resort development, where works for the all-weather, all-year, all-ages Adrenalin World are already underway, planning for opening in Spring 2021.
PEAK Resort also has planning permission for up to 2,000 hotel rooms and 250 lodges as well as a whole range of leisure, education and entertainment facilities, attracting investment and creating employment opportunities.
Chesterfield Borough Council CEO, Huw Bowen, said: “PEAK Resort forms a key part of our growth plan for Chesterfield and we are delighted to support Milligan as they develop their plans to create the Gateway at PEAK. It will be a tourist attraction of national significance, supported by the wider catchment and improved connectivity provided by the advent of HS2.
“It will provide sustainable transport links to attractions and activities within Chesterfield and the National Park. We are also keen to ensure that local people benefit from the Gateway at PEAK through skills development and access to jobs, by working with Milligan and future operators helping them utilise local business supply chains wherever practicable.”
Chesterfield, already famous for its crooked spire, medieval architecture and Victorian Market Hall, is set to become the Peak’s gateway town, as currently 61% of visits are from the ‘east side’ of the park. The Gateway at PEAK itself, just four miles from Chesterfield, will shift visitors from their cars into more sustainable modes of transport and manage access into the national park landscape, reducing pressure on local communities and impacts on wildlife.
Melanie Taylor, head of retail relations at Milligan, said: “Our vision is to create a sustainable hub for like-minded businesses and a basecamp for the sustainable exploration of the UK’s first national park. As post-lockdown demand for outdoor pursuits grows, we must enable and facilitate the sustainable use of natural spaces and protect them for generations to come. A gateway could provide information for visitors to book single or multi-day itineraries, explore the area using more sustainable, less polluting modes of transport and buy or hire outdoor activity equipment to try out new activities.”
Over the next two months, the partnership led by Milligan will be undertaking a major marketing and research phase.
Once this phase is completed in September, a detailed building specification will be finalised, and it is intended that construction will start in 2021.
