£0.34 Million EEDA Grant for Luxury Lodges Expansion Programme

High Lodge Leisure Limited has been awarded a 50% grant from East of England Development Agency (EEDA) to design, build, assemble and install eight luxury timber lodges, providing 32 bed spaces at the High Lodge sporting and leisure complex at Darsham near Southwold, Suffolk.

Planning permission was already in place to increase the existing self catering lodge accomodation by over 100% to 15 lodges.

The funding is being made available through the Rural Development Programme for England, which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, and is managed by EEDA who is managing the delivery of the economic and social elements of the RDPE in the East of England region.

According to John Bidwell, Owner, "The commercial success of the existing lodge development has proven the viability of the model and the benefits of further developing this side of the business.  As well as being viable as a stand alone development, the proposed project is an essential element in a £3,000,000 development proposal for a further 32 lodges to be built and located on the site, subject to planning permission. This project will act as a catalyst for this larger development not only by proving our on-site manufacturing capability for a total of 40 new lodges but also because it will allow the business to demonstrate to its key Partners the many benefits of developing a long term relationship with High Lodge Leisure Limited."

The funding will be used over two to three years for new luxury 1, 2 and 3 bedroom lodges that will be greener and more efficient than ever before. The first two lodges are expected to be available for occupation in May 2011. When they are finished the new lodges are also expected to generate significant additional business for High Lodge in terms of shooting, golf, fishing and on site weddings and receptions. In the context of a rural setting and economy High Lodge is already a significant employer, the current and future planned tourism development projects would significantly enhance High Lodge's contribution to both local and regional economies.

It is expected that the full development project will provide several new full time jobs in customer service, operations and construction and maintenance roles. The project could also enable the business to expand into supplying purpose built lodges to external customers.

The local visitor economy will benefit as a result of increased number of visitors that High Lodge will be able to accomodate. In the short term, the extra capacity provided by this project will provide up to 32 additional bed spaces and as mentioned above act as a catalyst for a further 192 bed spaces.

The UK holiday lodge market is growing as a result of a variety of economic, social and environmental factors and according to Paul Hardingham, Head of Specialist Product and Business Development, Hoseasons and a key High Lodge business partner, "Bookings in 2009 for lodges in the East of England were up by 46.8% from 2008-evidencing the company's belief that there is a strong demand for additional top quality holiday lodge accommodation in the region."

The recent economic downturn, alongside the strength of the Euro against the pound, the flexibility of travel and the perceived value for money, have all been responsible for a sudden rise in popularity of the traditional British holiday. According to VisitEngland and the UK Tourism Survey (2009), holiday trips taken by UK residents in England rose by 13% compared to the same period the previous year, a total of 7.8m additional holiday trips and 28.7m additional holiday nights taken throughout the year. At regional level, the East of England was the fastest growing region in terms of volume of trips with domestic overnight tourism showing the highest increase in the country - Trips up 15.1% to reach 10.6 million trips (9.2m, 2008).

Finally according to Fiona Johnson, Economic Development Officer, Suffolk Coastal DC, "Tourism is such an important part of Suffolk Coastal economy, worth in excess of £260m per annum, according to the most recent figures. The operation at High Lodge is an important contributor to this very significant business sector."

High Lodge is an established tourism business and already provides on-site accommodation to clients, comprising 7 self catering lodges with accommodation for up to 4 or 6 people each. The lodges are set in grassland overlooking a well stocked lake and woodland area and with easy access of the clubhouse and other facilities. These include clay target shooting, air rifle/pistol shooting ranges, a full sized 9 hole golf course, fishing lakes, archery, indoor function rooms and a restaurant. There are also plans to install an observatory for amateur astronomers and an indoor air rifle/pistol range.

For further information, please contact:

High Lodge Leisure Limited
Jane Bidwell
General Manager
janebidwell@highlodge.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 1986 784347