SJ Roberts Construction has handed over the first 50 of 80 luxury holiday lodges to Bluestone National Park Resort marking the early completion of the first phase of the resort’s £24m investment programme. The remaining lodges, all being delivered 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% more space than the existing lodges. In keeping with resort’s eco-credentials, they’ve been constructed with the utmost respect to sustainability. SJ Roberts partnered with sister company, Lowfield Timber Frames, which supplied the high-quality sustainable timber frame kits used in the construction of the lodges, each of which is heated via air source heat pumps. Additionally, the paths which connect the lodges have been constructed utilising revolutionary nappy recycling technology – a world first.[i]
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, comments:
“Bluestone and SJ Roberts share many similarities and values. We’re both family-owned businesses with strong commitments to work progressively, with a significant element in this respect being our shared assurance to develop in the most sustainable way possible.
“The use of timber frame construction not only allowed us to partner with our sister company Lowfield Timber Frames, but also to deliver these luxury lodges within a condensed timeline, thereby reducing the impact to the rest of the resort and local community. Perhaps most significantly, though, is that timber is not only a renewable and carbon-neutral material, it also has the lowest CO2 impact of all building materials. It continuously absorbs CO2, reducing carbon footprint and environmental impact making it highly sustainable – a key priority for this project.”
Over the duration of the contract approximately 100 local construction jobs will have been created, with many more created over the long-term by Bluestone to manage the extended facilities.
Speaking of the decision to engage SJ Roberts Construction on this significant investment, Marten Lewis, Director of Sustainability at Bluestone, said:
“Sustainability is at the heart of everything that we do at Bluestone, and it underpins our ‘Free Range Future’ ethos. It was, therefore, vital that we partnered with a contractor that shared these values and which could demonstrate tangible experience in sustainable construction.
“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.”
Mike Sambrook concludes:
“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.”
[i] The ‘path project’ at Bluestone National Park Resort used 60,000 recycled disposable nappies that were cleansed before the useable fibres from the plastic were separated and used to reinforce the asphalt, replacing the traditional materials typically used. The project brought together a trio of Welsh suppliers including SJ Roberts, GD Harries (the asphalt suppliers), and NappiCycle which spearheaded the nappy recycling technology.
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