Bere Wood

Wyld Cabins and the Charborough Estate are excited to present their proposals for a new eco-retreat in Bere Wood, Bere Regis, that offers guests the chance to unwind, digitally detox, and reconnect with nature.

Thank you for viewing our dedicated project website. If you would like to get in touch with the project team to ask any questions or provide feedback, please do so via the email below or the contact details at the bottom of this page.

Our public consultation is now closed. However, you may still submit feedback by emailing us to our dedicated project email address below.

wyld@crestviewstrategy.com.

Wyld has entered into a long-term partnership with the Charborough Estate and will be the tenant of the land in Bere Wood, with the Estate continuing to be the landowner. The cabins will be available to book throughout the year and we expect an average stay of two to four nights.

We are dedicated to promoting and encouraging sustainable tourism to this part of Dorset. We want visitors to fully embed themselves in the beautiful woodland and fully disconnect with the outside world and reconnect with nature in our high-quality cabins. We have therefore designed the cabins to blend in with surroundings.

The site

The site sits in commercial woodland in the north-eastern edge of Bere Wood, in the parish of Bere Regis, between the villages of Bere Regis and Bloxworth. It is north of the A35 with a singular access point coming off the A-road and entering the wood.

The site will cover an approximately 75 acre section of the approximately 600 acre Bere Wood. The total area in which there will be cabins will cover less than 40% of this 75 acre site and be very low density and low impact. In total, only 1.4% of the wood will be developed on.

  • WYLD

    Wyld provides opportunities for people to reconnect with themselves, each other and their natural surroundings, away from the stress and expectations of the modern digital world.

  • Charborough Estate

    Charborough is a traditional rural estate located near Blandford in Dorset. Steeped in history, and first recorded in the Doomsday Book, Charborough has a rich heritage and is now host to a variety of activities.

  • NTR Planning

    NTR Planning is an RTPI Award winning independent firm of planning consultants with offices in London and Bristol. This team undertakes a diverse range of project work throughout the UK and Ireland, and is recognised for delivering high-quality planning advice and solutions.

  • Holder Mathias architects

    Holder Mathias operates throughout the United Kingdom and internationally delivering services in Architecture, Urban Design and Masterplanning. Clients include Center Parcs and Forest Holidays on their national development programme.

  • Lanarca

    Lanarca is an independent practice specialising in regeneration, strategic service review and business planning. This team works across strategic management, economic and social development and landscape design.

  • Crestview Strategy UK

    Crestview is a global public affairs agency with a specialist team in the built environment sector. This team conducts stakeholder and community engagement along with strategic communications for a wide range of sites across England.

Our vision

Our guests are typically single or couples looking to reconnect with nature, switch-off, and digitally detox to improve their mental wellbeing. Two bed family cabins are also offered for those looking to share their experience, as well as accessible cabins.

Our emerging masterplan includes:

  • High-quality, blended into the existing woodland.

  • Small building and service courtyard located in the heart of the site, providing guests with a small selection of locally sourced produce.

  • One per cabin, located in small clusters screened from view. There are an additional 12 around the service cabin for staff.

  • Small sauna and changing room with a terrace and outdoor plunge pool in a secluded location.

Our cabins bring about a range of benefits, including:

Sustainable design – we use sustainably crafted and responsibly sourced UK-manufactured high-quality cabins.

Low density – our cabins will be spread out one per acre to provide privacy and a sense of retreat.

Low impact – our cabins are manufactured off-site, limiting on-site construction activity and are supported above the woodland floor on low impact pads or screw piles.

Limited visibility – the cabins are carefully positioned and oriented in naturally screened positions. The natural timber cladding weathers to blend into the woodland over time.

Support local businesses – we are committed to source the food and drink for our guest hampers entirely from the local area.

Low traffic impact – we are anticipating an extra one vehicle every 10 minutes at most during peak times.

Improving the woodland – we are investing in new planting, woodland regeneration, and promoting a diverse and sustainable woodland.

Tourism benefits – encouraging visitors to Dorset, improving the tourism economy, aligning to Dorset’s Economic Growth Strategy.

Biodiversity net gain – a minimum of 20% BNG.

Woodland management – we will protect, enhance, and retain the woodland. A detailed Woodland Management Plan will ensure excellent stewardship, enhance ecology, and increase biodiversity.

Active travel – guests will be encouraged to use the network of local public footpaths, particularly the bridleway across Bere Wood.

Economic benefits - our economics assessment concludes that our proposals would bring c.£550k additional GVA from tourism with c.£1.2m tourist expenditure spent in the Purbeck area.

Fire strategy - we have worked with Dorset Council and the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service to develop a comprehensive fire prevention strategy. Each cabin will be equipped with a fire extinguisher and each one's log burner will be locked in the event of a Fire Severity Index (FSI) of High or above. There are other fire safety measures we are implementing in order to ensure our guests’ safety.

Landscape-led approach

Our proposals are underpinned and defined by the existing natural environment, and the opportunities available to enhance the health and biodiversity of the woodland.

Draft masterplan

We have carried out in depth ecological site and desktop studies to support reports that will be submitted as part of the planning application. We are dedicated to our landscape-led approach in the following ways: 

Ancient woodland – we have avoided all areas of Ancient & Semi-Natural Woodland (ASNW) as well as areas of high ecological richness. Our site area is an opportunity for significant biodiversity net gain.

Ecology – we are avoiding areas of high ecological value and identified an area that would benefit from enhancement.

Landscape and Views – a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) has been conducted and will be submitted as part of the planning application. The cabins are significantly blended into the woodland and a landscape buffer zone around the site further minimises visibility from outside the site.

Lighting - a minimal lighting strategy is proposed for the site, with downward only lighting and low level bollards to limit lighting levels. We are taking strong measures to maintain dark skies and mitigate light pollution, such as using low energy LED technology better suited to nocturnal habitats nearby.

Infrastructure – we will implement compliant strategies for water and electrics and have consulted with the LLFA and agreed the approach for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDs). An on-site sewage treatment plant will be installed and a sustainable drainage strategy using rain gardens (on the service cabin) will manage storm water.

Construction strategy – cabins will be manufactured off-site and delivered to the site, greatly limiting on-site construction.

No foundations – as our cabins are manufactured off-site, they can be moved at any time with no permanent foundations affecting the ground where they will sit.