Lake Vyrnwy, is a 1,121acre reservoir and recreational facility set in a 9,510ha estate in Mid-Wales, on the edge of Snowdonia/Eryri National Park. The lake is owned by Hafren Dyfrdwy. A high-level masterplan had been prepared to identify the potential for the development of the site at Lake Vyrnwy. Forward Land and Hotel Solutions were engaged by Hafren Dyfrdwy to report on the potential for sustainably developed tourist accommodation as a lead strand of this masterplan. Furthermore we were asked to demonstrate the income and investment implications of a range of accommodation development options. This would be used to help prioritise projects as part of a future accommodation development strategy.
Lake Vyrnwy is reputed to be one of Wales’ hidden gems and sits in the county of Powys in mid Wales on the edge of the Snowdonia/Eryri National Park. It is south of Lake Bala amongst the Berwyn Mountains. The reservoir is 4.75 miles long with a 12 mile trail around its shore. It has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Natura 2000 site. The estate and Nature Reserve are jointly managed by Hafren Dyfrdwy and the RSPB who are long term tenants of the largest organic farm in England and Wales which is sited here.
Lake Vyrnwy is readily accessible as within 2.5hrs drive are the populations of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Derby, Stoke and Chester which provide a potential audience of roughly 8.5million people. The site receives over 200,000 visitors per annum according to the RSPB (190,000 in 2018 and 182,201 in 2019 according to Visit Wales) and ranks fourth in Mid Wales attractions according to Visit Wales.
The engagement began by constructively appraising the current offering and visitor experience. The findings were then fully considered alongside market information to create a range of options in concept form which would deliver profitable developments. The options considered sustainability in all forms and would be appraised by considering sustainable competitive advantages, profitability, deliverability and fit against Hafren Dyfrdwy’s strategic objectives.
Forward Land visited all current built assets and potential accommodation development locations within the estate which were appraised for the operational potential. The sites includes truly magical yet remote locations along with character packed derelict buildings just waiting to be transformed. The wider setting itself was breath taking. Strategy, policy and research review took place to understand the internal policy context and ambitions for the site, and also visitor perspectives. External stakeholder consultations were carried out with relevant organisations including DMO, local authority Tourism Teams and LEPs. These provided a wider better understand where and how Lake Vyrnwy sits within the broader tourism offer.
Analysis took place of the current accommodation provision which produced a gap analysis of accommodation supply in the surrounding area. Particular attention was paid to emerging and innovative offers nationally. Alongside this accommodation development trends were reviewed and comparator analysis took place. This helped when identifying types of accommodation with good fit with Lake Vyrnwy.
The outcome of the engagement was the production of a phase development masterplan and strategy which was underpinned by high level costing and robust operational modelling. This was presented to the senior visitor experience team along with guidance on the recommended next steps covering pre planning engagement and soft market testing.
