Pierre & Vacances - Center Parcs Group: Update on Development of Center Parcs Domains

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

For more than 50 years, the Pierre & Vacances - Center Parcs Group (Paris:VAC) has strived to develop a tourism offer that respects the environment and biodiversity.

The Center Parcs domains are a good illustration of the Group’s commitment to responsible and sustainable tourism. Each development project is the object of a prior environmental study that goes beyond legal obligations, as well as concertation with local operators.

Since 2007, the Group has been working on a project to install a Center Parcs domain in the township of Roybon in the Isère region of France. The project has received constant support from all local authorities for its environmental qualities, its benefits in terms of jobs and revenues, and its ability to revitalise and rebalance the region. For more than 10 years, legal proceedings contesting the administrative authorisations have prevented the project from advancing. With the land clearing permission, vital for the project’s materialisation, now void, and access to the site blocked by so-call “zadist” militants (from the French Zone à Defendre meaning zone to defend) who have been illegally occupying the land since 2014, Center Parcs has decided to withdraw from this project.

Independently from Roybon, over this period, the development of Center Parcs in France has continued with the opening of the Domaine du Bois aux Daims (Vienne region) in 2015, the extension of the Domaine des Trois Forêts (Moselle) in 2017 and 2019, and the future opening of the Center Parcs Landes de Gascogne (Lot-et-Garonne).

Center Parcs confirms its development in France and Northern Europe under the framework of the Group Change Up strategic plan, with innovative concepts that are set to enhance the Center Parcs offer.

- In France, the Landes de Gascogne domain in the Lot-et-Garonne region is due to open in spring 2022 (87 hectares, 400 cottages and 12,500 sq.m of leisure facilities). It has received a very warm welcome and is supported from regional authorities as well as local inhabitants and environmental protection groups. The domain is currently being built and is designed to have a limited environmental footprint (wood heating covering 80% of energy needs for the central facilities, bioclimatic construction of accommodation avoiding the use of air conditioning and optimised water management thanks to an innovative marsh treatment system).

In the Saône et Loire region, the feasibility of a development project for a domain with 400 cottages was confirmed by the administrative tribunals at the urban documentation stage. Continuing its dialogue with local authorities and all involved parties in the region, Center Parcs is currently undertaking complementary studies to strengthen its environmental commitments and propose adaptations to the initial project aimed at bolstering its low-carbon approach. A revised project taking into account these objectives will be presented next autumn.

For the project to extend the Bois Francs domain in the Eure region, the Group has reiterated its proposal to start productive discussions with environmental protection organisations, the conclusions of which will be integrated into the definition and design of the project.

The Center Parcs development project in the Jura region has been the object of legal appeals against the Local Urbanism Plan. Further study of the project is dependent on forthcoming decisions from the administrative tribunals.

- In Northern Europe, the development strategy primarily concerns Germany, with two new sites currently being instructed in northern Germany and in Bavaria, and the start of negotiations and studies for two other sites in the Berlin region. Elsewhere a first project in Denmark is in the design completion phase and two projects in Scandinavia have been identified.

The development of new domains is going hand-in-hand with the renovation of existing domains with an investment budget of around €400 million financed by the property owner lessors.

In a post-Covid context, the level of reservations to date for the summer period testifies to the resilience and appeal of the Group’s offer with increased demand for family-based and local tourism. The Center Parcs domains, accessible within two hours of major cities, embody sustainable tourism and immersion in natural and protected surroundings.

“We will continue these developments by innovating with each project, meeting environmental challenges and changing customer demands and by cooperating closely with the regions” stated Gérard Brémond, President of the Pierre & Vacances-Center Parcs Group.

About the Pierre & Vacances-Center Parcs Group

The Pierre & Vacances-Center Parcs Group is the European leader in local tourism. Created in 1967, it develops and manages innovative and environmentally-friendly holiday and leisure concepts offering the most attractive European seaside, mountain, countryside and city destinations

About Center Parcs

Created in 1967 in the Netherlands, the Center Parcs concepts remains unrivalled in Europe. There are 27 Center Parcs domains at present, 6 of which in France, 9 in the Netherlands, 6 in Belgium and 6 in Germany. Center Parcs is a unique concept that meets the needs of families aiming to find an ideal place to live and share emotions.