Holiday village, 100-bed hotel and ‘VR experience’ plan for Lancaster revealed

The land off the A6 near Junction 33 of the M6.

The plans detail the creation of 400 holiday lodges, a 100 bed hotel with function space, holiday and artisan “pods”, and a 750sqm “VR experience” on land at Ellel Grange, on the A6, south of Galgate.

M Capital Investment Partners Ltd, based in Church Street, Lancaster, have submitted an environmental impact scoping document to Lancaster City Council, outlining a major new “holiday village/leisure destination” comparable to Last Drop Village outside of Bolton.

The site adjacent to junction 33 of the M6, on land associated with Home Farm, would straddle Lancaster Canal, and included Home Farm itself - a collection of farmhouse, cottages and agricultural buildings set next to a walled garden.

It sits between the river Conder to the north, and the river Cocker to the south.

There are two listed buildings within the site, Ellel Grange Bridge and Double Bridge, which are both Grade II listed.

Adjacent to the site lies Ellel Grange and Redwards (Grade II) whilst further to the south lie Kings Lee Chapel (Grade II*) and the Preston Family Mausoleum, Church of St Mary (Grade II).

The scoping document shows the development would consist of around 400 Lodges (total area 28,000 m2), 100 Stay Pods (total area 2000 m2), a ‘Marketplace’ (circa 1500m2 retail sales area, 1400m2 F&B, 500m2 servicing/storage, 100 m2 Ancillary facilities) up to 25 ‘artisan pods’ (1,000sqm of new employment space), a hotel (100 bedrooms, 150 seat function space and associated break out suite, reception and ancillary spaces, totalling 3,700 m2), a ‘VR Experience’ (circa 750m2).

It states: “The proposal comprises of a mix of tourist destination uses, much of which will be ancillary to the holiday accommodation provided across the site. The TRICS database has a limited number of sites that are of comparable complexity, other than The Last Drop Village outside Bolton...

“The site will also deliver 525 holiday pod units.”

M Capital Investment Partners Ltd lists Lancaster tech entrepeneur Martin Higginson, founder of Lancaster based Monstermob Ltd, as a director.