Forward Land worked with long term partner Hotel Solutions, who were engaged by Forestry England to produce a commercial study into the feasibility of a forest climate pavilion and observatory in Grizedale Forest. The forest is a special place, one that inspires, informs, and rejuvenates the people who visit. Set in the heart of the Lake District National Park – a UNESCO world heritage site – Grizedale Forest was the first forest in the UK to develop art in the landscape. It is ‘the UK’s first forest for sculpture’.
The site receives approximately 200,000 visitors per annum who spend in the region of £2.2 million across the different businesses. As the Lake District is a highly competitive marketplace with numerous attractions vying for visitor footfall. It is imperative that the site maintains its existing visitor footfall and associated income. In order to achieve this the offer must remain current and fresh within this marketplace and improve the low visitation periods. Namely wet weather days and at nights. Income to the site falls dramatically during periods of wet weather, with an average of 140 wet weather days a year at Grizedale. A weather resilient feature would address this issue and become Cumbria’s first observatory and the UK’s first forest Climate Pavilion.
The aim was to advise Forestry England on the commercial viability of a dark skies observatory and wet weather attraction. The working title became a climate pavilion. We were asked to propose and evaluate different operating models, accompanied with financial projections, with a recommendation for how the site should be operated.
The study began with a site visit with Forestry England teams to familiarise ourselves with the location and current offering. A review of national trends in both the Astro tourism and environmental tourism sector was carried out. This was followed by a market gap analysis of similar offers across England to verify the market opportunity at Grizedale. The investigations helped inform the recommended operational structure for the Climate Pavilion which concluded with operational and financial analysis. The report involved consultation with the Grizedale site teams and Forestry England’s Commercial Team.
The report culminated with a presentation to senior Forestry England of core findings, recommendations supported by financial analysis. The output will now be used to inform outline planning application and provide the business case to external funding bids.
