THE UK’s biggest Lego build is now underway and it is right on Wokingham’s doorstep.
The £35 million development at the Legoland Windsor Resort will feature 150 accommodation lodges, nature trails, a family entertainment space, an on-site restaurant, brick building activities and story time areas.
The mammoth project will mean a major boost for travel and tourism in Berkshire as well as creating 60 jobs and apprenticeships.
Former Prime Minister, Theresa May, joined management and staff earlier this month for the launch of the project which will cover 10 acres.
Divisional Director for LEGOLAND Windsor Resort, Helen Bull, said: “Breaking ground on LEGOLAND Woodland Village is a significant milestone in the history of one of the UK’s much loved family entertainment theme parks.
“Our vision to create the first LEGO-themed Woodland village is an innovative way of demonstrating how LEGOLAND Windsor Resort will continue to meet the growing needs of our guests and be a major economic boost for the local area providing high quality and sustainable tourism for the future.”
“Breaking ground on LEGOLAND Woodland Village is a significant milestone in the history of one of the UK’s much loved family entertainment theme parks.”
John Jakobsen, chief operating officer for the LEGOLAND Resorts Group, said: “This acts as a blueprint for future accommodation sites, we may create in the other nine LEGOLAND Parks we have globally. Merlin Entertainments have a clear focus on moving to becoming a leader in our industry for carbon neutral location-based entertainment.
“We have been working actively to implement and maintain sustainability across our LEGOLAND Parks, as well as our other hotels and attractions.
“We continue to review our working methods, procedures and purchasing, to enable us to establish our overall objective to help ‘build better’ and make the world a more awesome place for future generations.”
Cllr Andrew Johnson, leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead council, said: “We are delighted that Merlin Entertainments has chosen to make this multi-million-pound investment here in the Royal Borough, made possible by the Council’s 2018 decision to approve these plans.
“Our recently adopted ‘Vision for Windsor’ is clear that world class attractions such as LEGOLAND Windsor Resort have an important role to play in drawing tourists to this corner of Berkshire. This additional visitor accommodation will enable families to stay longer locally, giving them time to enjoy much of what Windsor has to offer as a thriving and welcoming town. We recognise the significant benefits that this development will bring to the Royal Borough, not least in terms of the additional jobs and apprenticeships which will be made available for local people.”
The Woodland Village’s operational energy will be fossil fuel free once complete and this will be the first operationally carbon-neutral accommodation built by LEGOLAND owner Merlin Entertainments, across its global theme park operations. Merlin Entertainments and LEGOLAND Windsor will achieve this by working with The Carbon Trust on developing a robust carbon reduction plan, which will adopt low carbon technologies, energy efficiency and high-quality offsets.
