Oak Holdings plc - Leisure Development - £300 Million YES! Project

Date: 01 Feb 2005

AIM-listed development company and property consultancy Oak Holdings plc, in association with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, has today (31 January 2005) submitted an outline planning application for its £300-million YES! project, a major entertainment resort.

Hailed as the largest indoor leisure and tourism development in Europe, YES! will regenerate 320 acres (130 hectares) of brownfield land adjoining the Rother Valley Country Park, Rotherham, close to J31 of the M1. Previously the site was the Pithouse West coal mine and coking plant which has been disused for many years.

The project will not only bring tourists from all over the country to the area, but will create 2,700 new jobs in South Yorkshire across a broad spectrum of skills, addressing two of the Deputy Prime Minister's Northern Way targets, promoting tourism and leisure and tackling unemployment, particularly worklessness.

YES! will feature over one million sq ft of entertainment facilities with supporting infrastructure that includes a unique combination of a major theatre complex, extreme sports centre, major indoor entertainment facilities, four-star resort spa and conference hotel, exhibition centre and golf range, along with restaurants, bars, cafes
and festival retailing. The new theatre, set to be the largest outside London's West End, will help bolster the area's growing reputation as a centre for the creative and cultural industries. By broadening the South Yorkshire leisure offer tourists from not only the UK, but also abroad, (using the new Robin Hood Airport) will be attracted to the area.

The major indoor themed leisure and world-class extreme sports complex, which will be integrated into the Rother Valley Park's existing excellent sports facilities, will create a destination unrivalled in the region. The four-star resort spa hotel, conference and exhibition centre will give a much needed boost to the hotel provision in the area, and will attract visitors in its own right.

Appointed preferred developers for the site in 2003 by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Yorkshire Forward, Oak has already signed Memoranda of Understanding with three major occupiers for YES!

Clear Channel Entertainment, one of the world's biggest promoters of live entertainment, is being lined up to operate the theatre complex. Venture Xtreme UK Ltd plans to create a world class indoor and outdoor extreme pursuits sports facility which will include an Olympic-standard canoe slalom.

The Baydrive Group, the Promoters of the innovative TopGolf Centres, will open one of their innovative golf driving range centres, currently being rolled out worldwide. This offers a golfing experience for novice and families alike whilst providing a challenge for serious golfers.

There has also been strong interest from several major global hotel operators in locating at YES! and a further announcement will be made in due course.

Oak Holdings chief executive Steve Lewis says: "Undoubtedly, YES! will be a sensation, providing South Yorkshire and the UK with a tourism and leisure development to be proud of and encouraging people to travel into the area. It will certainly be the largest undercover tourism and leisure development in Europe.

"Apart from creating up to 2,700 new jobs, YES! also has educational, environmental and cultural merits that will significantly benefit surrounding communities."

The design has been prepared by world-renowned architects CZWG and Holder Mathias who have formed a joint venture for this project known as 'CZWG Holder Mathias'. Between them they have produced a stunning scheme South Yorkshire can be proud of. Piers Gough of CZWG Architects was responsible for the acclaimed Regency Wing of the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London. He is also working on the Vaux Brewery development in Sunderland and the design of the buildings for what will be the largest solar-powered village in Kendal Rise, west London. Peter Mathias of Holder Mathias Architects was responsible for the acclaimed Centre Parc's Oasis centre in Cumbria.

Rotherham Economic & Development Services' executive director, Adam Wilkinson, leading the project for the council, says: "There's a rigorous planning process ahead, but we're confident Oak can meet the criteria. Once that's complete, we'll be creating more than a development - it will be a vision of how future leisure attractions could take shape. There are over 20 million people within easy travelling distance, but the scheme would bring in visitors from all over the country, even internationally, so the scope for extra tourism is huge. Add YES! to other facilities in South Yorkshire and the area would become a leading centre for leisure and tourism. Regeneration benefits would be massive - YES! would bring in extra spending and create jobs for people right across South Yorkshire."

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