THE man behind the UK’s first socially distanced music festival and owner of a 400-year-old private estate nestled in the Ribble Valley has big plans to bring a £30million luxury hotel, spa and private members club to the North West.
Guy Hindley and his Californian wife Amber re-acquired his old family home, Gisburne Park, back in March 2021, and now has ambitious plans to transform the building and surrounding area into a centre of excellence establishing it as a leading European resort.
For the past 35 years, the Grade-I listed mansion on the Gisburne Park Estate has operated as the private BMI Gisburne Park Hospital, but following its closure in March, estate owners Guy and Amber have taken back the keys with plans to invest more than £30million to transform the estate and reinvent hospitality in a post-Covid era.
The reinvention of the mansion house in Gisburn into a 60-bed hotel and estate will include three restaurants, a number of treehouses, lakeside lodges, a garden spa, a wellness centre and gym, a private members’ club, a pub, land art installations, a recording studio and a screening room.
Mr Hindley, who also owns Ribblesdale Park and Hindelinis Restaurant, said: “Ideally we’d like to start work in a year, and maybe if things go to plan have it open late 2024.
“There isn’t a more magnificent hall, landscape and private estate in the UK that’s ready to be developed into a resort of this quality.
“Amber and I have already got a vision and a plan; we don’t intend to repeat what’s already been done, we aim to reinvent hospitality aligning it with what’s demanded in the post-Covid era.
“We are currently still trying to find the perfect team to surround ourselves with to make it the most exciting hotel and spa project in Europe.
“Amber is taking the lead on the design and is an extremely talented interior designer having redesigned all our properties here and in the USA.
“Alongside this development we will also be launching Wild Gisburne during 2022, the rewilding of a large area of agricultural land making this the first estate in Lancashire to do so.
“Beavers, white park cattle and ancient pigs are a small example of some of the species set to be introduced.
“This will lend itself to wildlife tourism and aligns with my family’s ambitions of turning our soundings into an incredible wildlife sanctuary that we and our guests can enjoy.
“It’s rumoured that Netflix are looking to do a fly on the wall documentary of the transformation - we’re waiting for the green light and have filmed a taster so fingers crossed.
“We were also recently very encouraged to see Lancashire win the most represented county in a top 100 UK restaurants list.
“Four of the top restaurants were based in the north. I think our hotels and spas now need to be consistently challenging for the top spot and we fully intend to fly that flag for the North West.”
Redefining the estate won’t just be beneficial for guests; the project will create hundreds of jobs for people in the local area and will continue to raise awareness of the Ribble Valley and Lancashire both nationally and internationally.
Mr Hindley added: “The wellness industry is exploding right now especially since our health and wellbeing has been so challenged over the last few years.
“We need to create a resort that is designed for the next five, 10, 20 years not just for now.
“We are surrounded by tranquillity and sit right on top of two rivers, the River Ribble and Stock Beck.
“Living here, every day I am nurtured by these surroundings - and this is one of the reasons we can set this project apart from our competitors.
“Very few spas in Europe actually have natural running water within their building and setting.
“There’ll also be a private members club or as I like to call it an estate membership. This will be very limited in numbers but will allow people access to the resort. That’s all I am going to say about that at this stage.”
The transformation won’t be without its challenges though, as ideas and plans have yet to be finalised and planning permission sought, and that’s even before Mr Hindley tackles the obstacles which come with renovating a Grade I-listed mansion.
He said: “I grew up in the building. It’s my family home with incredible memories but it’s also like a museum in terms of its heritage.
“Every aspect needs to be considered with the utmost sensitivity and there is no margin for error. We have to work with the best and recently toured and interviewed the amazing architect Alison Brookes whose latest project won RIBA House of the Year 2021.
“Amber and I are very ambitious and believe we are perfectly positioned to create something unique and very special here at Gisburne.”
In summer 2020, Gisburne Park Pop Up saw a range of socially distanced music and family shows held at the estate. It was praised for saving summer, hosting nearly 150 events across the season, welcoming more than 40,000 guests, and creating 100 jobs for the events industry.
For more information on the Gisburne Park Estate visit: gisburnepark.com or follow @gisburneparkestate on Instagram.
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