17 Sep 2014
Rushden Lakes development takes further step forward as landscape architects appointed
BY Chris Dodd
Plans for the Rushden Lakes eco-considerate hospitality, attraction and retail centre in Northamptonshire have moved forward after landscape architects were appointed for the project, meaning more detailed design work can now get underway.
Located at the Skew Bridge brown field site, the £50m ($85m, €63m) project will see the creation of a hotel, waterfront restaurants, a boathouse and leisure club, plus a lakeside visitors’ centre and retail outlets.
The development is being led by LXB Properties, with HPW Architects and Campbell Reith serving as architectural and engineering consultants respectively.
The latest group to be fully-introduced into the mix is landscape architecture practice Ubu Design, which is being tasked with integrating the nearby 14 acre lake and woodland – which has a Sites of Special Science interest (SSSI) title – into the development in a sensitive manner to create a unique identity for the region.
Ubu has previously been working with the developers of the project to produce a planning application and get the idea off the ground.
In October 2012, East Northamptonshire councillors voted unanimously to grant planning permission for the development, though they faced stiff opposition from Northampton’s Grosvenor Centre and a consortium of Corby, Kettering and Northampton councils.
However, the project seemed to take a major leap forward when the Rushden Lakes project was given approval by Secretary of State Eric Pickles earlier this year.
The project now seems to be moving forward at pace, given that ground engineering firm Barton Plant has moved onto the site to begin enabling works, before seeking to demolish an old artificial ski slope situated on the land.
It is thought that once the project is fully underway, around 2,000 jobs could be created.
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