Nottinghamshire-based Center Parcs has pulled out of its plans to create a new village as the location was "not suitable". The company had proposed to make a new forest holiday village at Oldhouse Warren, West Sussex.
In July 2021, the business secured an agreement to acquire the privately-owned woodland near Crawley. Center Parcs said it undertook a "rigorous environmental and ecological site survey" as part of its pre-planning process.
But Center Parcs said it had analysed the surveys and concluded the site at Oldhouse Warren was not a suitable location for a Center Parcs village. Colin McKinlay, Center Parcs CEO, said: "We have always been committed to only building our villages in areas where we can improve the biodiversity of the site.
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"Whilst it is obviously disappointing that we will not be able to bring Center Parcs to this part of West Sussex, this decision demonstrates how seriously we take our responsibility to the environment, as well as our ongoing commitment to enhancing the natural habitats in which our villages are located. Through our customer insights we are confident that there is strong demand in the UK market for a sixth Center Parcs village and, with this in mind, we will continue our search for a suitable site."
If the development had gone ahead, it would have created 1,500 permanent jobs once operational - and a further 1,000 roles during construction. The proposed development included up to 900 lodges, leisure facilities and a swimming pool.
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