Plans for Ridsdale eco-friendly holiday site

Posted by The Journal on Aug 20, 09 09:03 AM in News

Plans have been unveiled for a multi-million pound holiday complex in Northumberland which will put the emphasis on eco-friendly and sustainable buildings.

Developers behind the proposed Waterfalls Country Estate - a 14-acre site just off the A68 near Ridsdale in Tynedale - claim it will be a unique tourist destination which will create 67 full-time jobs for the local area.

The plans envisage 18 luxury chalets, three holiday cottages converted from existing stone barns, a bar and restaurant, a pool and beauty spa, an equestrian centre, outdoor pursuits and sports facilities.

One of the key objectives of the project is to achieve a zero carbon development through the use of a biomass boiler, solar thermal water heating, rainwater harvesting and robust waste management strategies.

The man behind the ambitious scheme is young entrepreneur Sherod Walker, 24, who has spent the last 18 months working on it and will submit a planning application to the county council in the near future.

Yesterday he said: "I want to make Waterfalls Country Estate the best tourist destination in the North East, combining luxury in a sustainably built environment.

"It will create 106 construction jobs and 20 full-time equivalent jobs once operational. And the economic impact of the development will create an additional spend of £1.7m in the local economy, creating a further 47 jobs."

Colin Earnshaw, a community enterprise officer with the Northumberland National Park, said the scheme would be seen as an asset to the area and could be supported by the park authority. If planning permission is granted, development is scheduled to start on site in December with the aim of opening at Easter 2011.

Sherod Walker, who grew up in Tynedale and went to Haydon Bridge High School, worked as a trainee gamekeeper and a kennelman before setting up his first business in dry-stone walling, fencing and forestry work when he was 17.

He later launched Waterfalls UK Ltd to provide ground works, forestry and plant hire services across the North East. Since June 2007 he has concentrated on his recycling and waste management business.

FEATURES

Eco-friendly features of the proposed holiday complex include solar thermal heating in the roof of the leisure block to help produce hot water for the indoor swimming pool.

Rainwater will be harvested from the roofs of the stables, and possibly the restaurant and leisure facility, to provide water for toilet flushing, car cleaning, laundry and horticultural use.

Waste management strategies will
give priority given to reducing, re-using, recycling and recovering waste.

And the chalets will be built in traditional, sustainable materials, using locally-sourced timber, stone, slate and turf, with sedum-type roofs.

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