Bluestone Lodges
Lowfield Timber Frames is proud to see the development at Bluestone reach a new milestone. The timber frame kits supplied ranged from wall panels to roof and floor cassettes, this resulted in the build taking less time than anticipated due to the speed of erecting such large off-site manufactured panels.
Sister company SJ Roberts Construction Ltd has handed over the first 50 of 80 luxury holiday lodges to Bluestone National Park Resorts Ltd in Narbeth, Pembrokeshire, marking the early completion of the first phase of the resort’s £24m investment programme.
The remaining lodges, all being brought forward by SJ Roberts, are due for completion by October of this year.
The platinum lodges are the resort’s most luxurious offering featuring sunrooms, a private entrance and 20 percent more space than the existing lodges.
Sustainability
In keeping with the resort’s eco-credentials, they have been constructed with sustainability in mind. SJ Roberts constructed the lodges with a sustainable approach utilising timber and heating via air source heat pumps.
Additionally, the paths which connect the lodges have been constructed utilising nappy recycling technology, which it said was ‘revolutionary’. Bluestone has become the first company in the world to utilise nappy recycling technology in the construction of infrastructure for its new range of Platinum Lodges, using 60,000 disposable nappies.
With an accumulation of up to half a million nappies at the resort each year, the Green Key accredited business decided to explore ways to recover the usable fibres from nappies and put them back into the resort as part of its commitment to a circular economy on site.
The ‘path project’ is the company’s latest innovation where recyclable materials from nappies are used to form the paths leading to its new £24m platinum lodge range.
Bluestone collaborated with Wales-based company Nappicycle, who are pioneering the technology.
The Project
The contract to deliver the luxury lodges was secured following a series of meetings and a recognition that there were significant synergies between both Bluestone and SJ Roberts.
Managing director of SJ Roberts Construction, Mike Sambrook, said: “The UK’s holiday industry has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years which shows no signs of abating. However, with this comes increased consumer demand in where they stay. Bluestone has recognised this in its most recent investment, and we’ve been honoured to deliver such a prestigious project for this hugely respected operator within the sector.”
During the duration of the contract approximately 100 local construction jobs will have been created, with many more expected over the long-term by Bluestone to manage the extended facilities.
Marten Lewis, director of sustainability at Bluestone, said:“The combination of SJ Roberts and Lowfield Timber Frames couldn’t have been a better option for Bluestone’s expansion. Our new platinum lodges not only exude the utmost in luxury, reflecting the quality and exemplary workmanship of the SJ Roberts team, but they do so with market-leading sustainability credentials.”
Darren Jarman, Managing Director at Lowfield’s commented, “Lowfield Timber Frames were happy to be working alongside our sister company SJ Roberts Construction on the Bluestone platinum lodges project. It was great to supply our high-quality sustainable timber frame kits to one of the most prestigious tourism sites in Wales. The finished project looks incredible, and we are proud to be a part of the journey.
Not only is timber a renewable and carbon-neutral material, but it also has the lowest CO2 impact of all building materials. Timber continuously absorbs CO2, reducing carbon footprint and environmental impact which makes it a highly sustainable product which was one of Bluestones key priorities for the project. Due to our panels being cut via high tech CNC machines, there is minimal waste in the manufacturing process.
There are many other benefits to using timber frame for a project like this, such as timber facilitates much faster construction than traditional materials. The weather did not present issues as factory-controlled prefabrication helps to avoid rain damage. The timber system was made watertight within days. One of the key benefits to using timber frame on this project was the speed of construction which highlights timber frame as an ideal material for innovative projects that must be completed to strict deadlines.”
To view other leisure and tourism projects completed by Lowfield Timber Frames visit our projects.
