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6 Courier, Friday June 27, 2014 KSC-EO1-S2 courier.co.uk WINTER attraction Father Christmas World is due to open at Salomons in Southborough. An application for the scheme, touted as generating a £5 million spend in Tunbridge Wells, is yet to be decided. Last week we reported on a public meeting organised by Rusthall Village Association, where villagers grilled the company bosses behind the £2.5 million attraction, Markerstudy Leisure. There were so many questions asked at that meeting, that the Courier invited its readers to submit their own questions. A huge number were submitted, so we have decided to run the questions and answers in a two-part series. Here are the first Q&As, with answers from the company’s commercial director, Nick Moore. FATHER CHRISTMAS WORLD DEBATE, PART 1: Your questions answered ■ 1. Visitors have to book to attend a set time a) What will happen to those people who arrive late? b) Where will they park? c) If they join the next group, how will this impact on that group of visitors, if you are set up to take a certain number of people every half-an-hour? a) We have contingency plans for late arrivals and can be flexible with arrangements, as you might expect when catering for young families, without exceeding maximum allocations. b) A dequate provision has been made within our plans for car parking on site. c) We expect group sizes to vary and have planned for late arrivals and cancellations. ■ 2. How many trees have so far been cut down on the development and how many more will be felled? No trees have been cut down on the development. A considerable amount of invasive laurel and rhododendrons have been cleared. Woodland management on the estate as a whole is ongoing, and Markerstudy has been liaising with the council's tree officer on this. This includes preparing an estate landscape management plan and agreeing it with the council so that a clear strategy is in place to ensure that the grounds of Salomons are enhanced and preserved long-term. ■ 3. Will the car parks be visible from the surrounding roads and homes? No. ■ 4. How can Rusthall and Speldhurst residents have any confidence in the planning and execution of projects by Markerstudy Leisure on the Salomons estate when it destroyed a section of a grade two listed wall along Broomhill Bank Road in order to gain access to the site? The section of wall referred to was not “destroyed". It was structurally unsound and in danger of falling into the road. The access gate to this part of the grounds already existed and is still there. A planning application to reinstate the wall and gates was submitted to the council in December. This was resolved and approved last week. The permission includes a strict code of practice as to how the gate will be used, so as to make it as safe as possible. There were no such controls on the use of the gate previously. Works to rebuild the wall and gate will commence very soon. ■ 5. Markerstudy said it would provide more than 200 jobs: are these going to be zero-hour contracts and what long- term employment will be offered or is this purely seasonal work? Some jobs will be seasonal and offer valuable chances to people, including local students, to gain experience in hospitality and entertainment. Other jobs will be permanent as the operation will require organisation and management throughout the year. The exact terms of employment are still under consideration. ■ 6. What is to become of The Stables – another property bought by Markerstudy Leisure on the land which is a Grand Designs house? The Stables will remain as a dwelling. ■ 7. Will the public right of way be left clear during Father Christmas World? Yes. Four times per hour the land train that will take visitors from the reception area to the attraction and cross the footpath. This will be carefully monitored and manned to ensure that there are no hazards to people using the footpath. There will be minimal disruption to users of the path. ■ 8. How are people going to be persuaded to spend money in the town when they have just spent three-and-a- half hours at Father Christmas World where there is a restaurant, shows, retail and a family-of-four will have spent about £150 on entry alone? Our national marketing campaign will promote Father Christmas World and raise the profile of the town itself. Families will be encouraged to plan their day out so that they have time to visit Salomons Estate and also enjoy the shops, restaurants, theatres and other attractions of Tunbridge Wells. Father Christmas World will be competitively priced and visitors will have all paid for their tickets in advance, leaving themselves money to spend on the actual day. ■ 9. Which retailers in the town were approached to have a retail cabin at Father Christmas World and how much was the rent for a cabin? We spoke personally to many local retailers and the offer was publicised on the borough council’s website and via local media. We have also presented the opportunities to the Tunbridge Wells Retail Forum and its members. Prices weren’t quoted and no business has registered an interest at this stage. The offer, though, is still available to those interested. ■ 10. If the little train is going directly from the train station to Salomons Estates, how is that going to encourage people into other parts of the town? We will not be running the train from stations or the town centre to Salomons. It has never been our intention to operate any train directly from the railway station to Salomons Estate. Currently, we are working with a local coach and taxi firm to offer flexible travel from stations for visitors who do not wish to drive. We are, however, as part of the planned Christmas attractions, bringing back the Santa Express which will run a similar route to that of last year and proved a massive hit with retailers and visitors alike. ■ 11. Markerstudy advised it would be funding Christmas lights from Bidborough to The Pantiles and was looking at putting money into the council-run ice rink at Calverley Grounds. If planning permission is refused, does it still intend to benefit the town in this way? The Christmas lights and support of the ice rink are part of an overall package to promote the town as a Christmas destination. If there is no Father Christmas World then an essential element of that package would be eliminated, thereby removing the need for any national marketing campaign and placing question marks against the remaining elements. THE LOGISTICS: Transport plan for Father Christmas World at Salomons ■ More questions answered next week Attraction will raise profile of the town and entice families ANSWERS: Nick Moore, commercial director at Markerstudy Leisure in Mount Ephraim Road, Tunbridge Wells MASSIVE HIT: The Santa Express ByMary Harris [email protected] NEARLY 60 residents from Rusthall attended a meeting to question the company bringing family attraction Father Christ- mas World to Tunbridge Wells. The meeting brought together the villagers and the bosses of Markerstudy Leisure, which is behind the ambitious £2.5 million plan for its Southborough venue, Salomons estate. The panel fielding questions at the public meeting - organised by Rusthall Village Association - included the company’s chief executive officer and Tunbridge Wells resident Kevin Spencer. The audience was mainly con- cerned with increased traffic levels on the rural route Lower enue in Tunbridge Wells and would employ 200 people. In response to concerns about heavy traffic generated by the attraction, Markerstudy said the Christmas train would ease the need for car use and that visitor attendance would be staggered. Answering concerns that sat- navs would direct people through the rural route, Mr Spencer said Residents quiz bosses of Father Christmas World Meeting told ‘little train’ will reduce need for visitors to use car ON TRACK: The Santa Express FLASHBACK: Last week’s story in the Courier Is coming your way CHIDDINGSTONE CASTLE Hill Hoath Road, Chiddingstone, Edenbridge, KENT, TN8 7AD Thursday 17 th July 2014 09:30am – 4:00pm Paul Marn and our experts Adam Partridge, Thomas Plant and Claire Rawle look forward to seeing you there FREE ADMISSION TO THE FLOG IT EVENT MAXIMUM 3 ITEMS PER PERSON FOR VALUATION T: 0117 974 7839 W: www.bbc.co.uk/flogit E: fl[email protected]
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