Plans submitted for controversial £600m French entertainments park near Bicester

The park would be the first visitor destination in Britain by the French company Puy du Fou which has award-winning, history-themed destinations in France and Spain.

Initial announcements on the plan have been opposed by some local people who have formed the North Oxfordshire Residents’ Action (NORA) which is working against the development.

In a statement Puy du Fou says that if approved, the new park would open in phases beginning in 2029.

By the time the park is fully developed it would directly employ around 2,000 people, support a further 6,000 jobs in hotels, restaurants, suppliers and other local businesses, and deliver a £500m a year boost to the local and regional economy, they say.

The company estimates the theme park would attract 1.47 million visitors a year who would ‘eventually walk through a beautiful, wooded park with stunning landscaped gardens and immerse themselves in British history by visiting four period villages and 13 live shows’.

There would also be three hotels, each themed to different periods in British history and a state-of-the-art conference centre, which would be open on demand all year round.

Olivier Strebelle, CEO of Puy du Fou, said: “We have only submitted these plans after an extensive consultation, which took over a year and included six in-person events and over 250 individual meetings, all of which have helped to shape our final proposals. We did not rush our consultation because we wanted to get our proposals right.

“We have wanted to come to the UK for many years. Britain has such a rich, colourful and exciting history and the site we have chosen near Bicester is the ideal location to create a world-class destination that will bring that history to life.

“This will be a £600 million investment in the local economy over the next ten years and will create thousands of jobs, but it will also have the environment and sustainability at its heart.”

Puy du Fou says its proposals include extensive landscaping and planting, with new ponds, lakes and gardens, as well as over 5km of new hedgerows, 40 acres of biodiverse and species-rich wildflower meadows, and 20,000 new trees being planted to join with the existing woodland to create the first new 50 acre forest in Cherwell for generations.

More information can be found on the project website: www.puydufouconsultation.co.uk.

Once registered on Cherwell District Council’s planning portal, local residents and others will be able to submit their comments in objection or support of the development plan.

Because it is such a major development a decision on the outcome will be decided by councillors in committee.

A number of issues relating to the proposal including the site location, travel and the effect on the environment have already been considered by the council’s planning department. The result of the scoping exercise and a number of responses already sent to the council by neighbours can be seen here.