Newbury chalet operator enters administration

'Period of financial pressure' leads to Dream Lodge collapse

THE future of holiday chalets in Newbury is up in the air after the operator entered administration last week.

Dream Lodge Group owned the 25 chalets at The Sanctuary, off Hambridge Lane.

Partners at Deloitte, who are acting as administrators, said that The Dream Lodge Group was impacted by a “period of financial pressure”.

It added: “Given the immediate funding constraints and seasonality of the business, it has been necessary to make 80 out of the 121 employees redundant, with immediate effect.”

The 25 chalets were built following a planning appeal in 2014.

West Berkshire Council had refused the scheme at the “unacceptable” location, which it said could set a precedent for further development.

Dream Lodge applied to build an additional 40 chalets on the site last year, which the council refused, despite the company's claims that they would bring an estimated £770,000 to the local economy.

Councillors questioned the holiday home status of the chalets and said that the initial 25 were a Trojan Horse to further develop the site.

Deloitte was appointed by Dream Lodge's Essex-based parent company, Walsham Chalet Park Ltd.