A LUXURIOUS and ambitious holiday development, set to attract wealthy people from across the world to the Ribble Valley, has begun to take shape.

Ribblesdale Park near Gisburn will comprise 62 state-of-the-art holiday lodges on 1,000 acres of land to create what its owners said will be the first of its kind in the UK.

The man overseeing it is 28-year-old Guy Hindley whose father, Christopher, came up with the plan more than a decade ago.

Tragically Christopher died last year of cancer aged 56 and Guy took it upon himself to ensure his father's vision became reality.

The wooden lodges, starting at £150,000, will come complete with saunas, hot tubs, plasma entertainment systems and maid services. The first will be built in May and they are already attracting interest.

Guy's family have owned Gisburne Park, on which the holiday homes will be built, since the 1940s. The park was previously owned for generations by famous aristocrat Lord Ribblesdale and his family.

Old farm buildings, built by Guy's grandfather, are now being demolished to make way for the park.

Guy said: "It's fascinating watching your ideas happen. It's exciting, but also sad to see the buildings go down."

Since the park has been advertised the 10 lodges which are up for sale have been snapped up. They have attracted interest from as far as Barbados and Spain as well as the south of England and North West. Buyers are able to choose the decor of their home before it is built and the site has strict security with 24-hour CCTV.

Guy added: "Local residents are more positive now they realise what we are doing. The people buying them are monied people and that will have a significant effect on the local economy."

Guy said the development will not have a pub or a restaurant so owners will use Gisburn and the surrounding villages' facilities.

And Guy plans to reinstate features of Gisburne Park which have been lost throughout the last century so it becomes as glorious as it was in the 1890s.

Oliver Cromwell is said to have stayed at Gisburne Park on his way from battle in 1648 and more recently Prince Charles has enjoyed the Ribblesdale hospitality.