With support from the planning, design and development consultancy Marrons, a new leisure facility at the award-winning Knights Lodges in Derbyshire, which generates more than £1.25m for the local economy each year, is now open for business.
Knights Lodges is marketed by household name holiday let operator Hoseasons. Its new leisure complex includes a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, gym, games room and additional space for guests staying in one of its 16 luxury timber lodges to enjoy.
The popular site is one of just 55 locations in the UK offering Hoseasons’ most luxurious Autograph collection, which comes with a private hot tub. Knights Lodges has become a star performer within the Hoseasons range since opening in May 2019, with one of the highest occupancy rates in the Midlands.
Following a three-year battle and with support from planning, design and development consultancy Marrons, Knights Lodges recently won two planning appeals to support design changes to the leisure complex and its eight latest holiday cabins. Originally, the applications had been supported by officers but subsequently refused by South Derbyshire District Council’s planning committee.
Owner Dean Willshee said, “We have worked tirelessly to create a truly exceptional and sustainable holiday experience for our guests that respects the surrounding environment, and I am absolutely relieved and delighted this long and arduous process has finally come to a successful completion. We are keen to move forward positively and build on the development of this superb visitor attraction.”
Knights Lodges has a 9.6 out of 10 customer rating on the Hoseasons website. The leisure building has a double-height entrance with large windows to maximise natural light and provide extensive views of the countryside. The timber cladding matches the adjacent cabins to ensure seamless integration with the holiday park and surrounding landscape.
The eight new holiday cabins provide a mix of high-quality, contemporary two and three-bed units with countryside views. Each lodge has an open plan living and dining space, a bathroom with bath and overhead rain shower, and a decking area with an outdoor hot tub.
Mr Willshee said, “Rooted in the heart of the National Forest, South Derbyshire is beautiful, and people from across the country want to experience it. It is a peaceful site in an idyllic location, situated outside the leafy Bretby village and close to the brewery town, Burton upon Trent.
“Just six months after Knights Lodges first opened the initial eight cabins, I knew I wanted to increase the accommodation on-site to meet high levels of demand. We knew from customer feedback there was a desire for leisure facilities and that we could offer our guests a top-quality experience in a tranquil natural setting.”
In March 2020, South Derbyshire District Council’s planning committee approved plans for the second phase of eight cabins at the Knights Lodges site. Planning permission for the leisure building was granted in May 2020, and construction works commenced shortly afterwards.
Following a complaint, the council established that the location of the first eight permitted holiday cabins differed slightly from the original planning permission. The authority required Knights Lodges to rectify the planning status for the eight additional lodges and leisure building, which were in the process of being built with minor amendments to the permitted schemes.
Marrons submitted separate planning applications in the autumn of 2020 and worked proactively with council planning officers, who recommended approval after nearly two years. By this stage, the works, which differed marginally from the existing approval, were fully complete.
At a planning committee meeting in May 2022, councillors refused the applications on “landscape” grounds. Marrons appealed the decisions on behalf of Mr Willshee. In August 2022, the planning committee approved a resubmitted application for the leisure building but refused the eight additional lodges, again on landscape grounds.
The decision was appealed, and a government-appointed planning inspector has recently approved the plans, recognising the value of the scheme and praising the design’s visual impact for blending harmoniously with the surrounding area.
Matthew Roe, a senior planner at Marrons, said, “We are truly thrilled the planning inspector agreed that the construction of the leisure complex and the latest eight lodges were entirely compliant with all planning policies.
“The leisure facility and lodges were already approved, but we needed to submit subsequent applications due to minor changes during the build process.
“Retrospective planning applications are a legitimate mechanism of the planning system, which allow applicants to proceed with otherwise permitted work and regularise reasonable and rational minor amendments during the build process.
“Knights Lodges is expertly operated and delivers a high-quality tourism facility that supports the South Derbyshire visitor economy, with strong demand for further accommodation. The new leisure complex looks fantastic, and I am looking forward to seeing the business continue to succeed in the future.”
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