York-based property firm Skelwith Leisure will begin work on the site between York and Harrogate on 28 May after planning agreements were recently signed with two local councils.
The development, on the site of the existing Flaxby Park Golf Course, will create a new resort which will feature a hotel, 27-hole golf course, floodlit driving range, conference centre, spa and gym as well as a number of restaurants, bars and shops.
Premier destination
Once completed the 303-bedroom hotel will be one of the largest in the north of England.
“It has been a long journey to be able to start work on this ambitious project but I am delighted now to be able to finally get cracking,” said Paul Ellis, managing director of Skelwith Leisure.
“It is a large and complex development and one which we feel will offer many benefits to the whole area. When opened, it will be one of the premier destinations in the north of England and will employ over 300 people,” he added.
The Flaxby Country Resort estate will total over 280 acres and will feature Skelwith Leisure’s second hotel. The company has recently redeveloped a property near Whitby – Raithwaite Country Hall.
Golf hotel
The development is the latest in a series of unrelated projects designed to raise the accommodation standards of UK golf resorts.
Construction work is due to begin on a Hampshire golf course hotel later this year, while Wyndham Hotel Group has announced it will make its UK debut as part of a new golf resort in Dundee.
Golf course management company Troon Golf has been involved in the Flaxby project for the past three years and will be aiming to increase the number of events at the resort once construction work is complete.
Bruce Glasco, managing director for international operations at Troon Golf, said: “The Flaxby project is very exciting and I am looking forward to seeing the resort transformed over the next two years into a full service hotel, spa and golf club.
“The setting, course and layout of all 27 holes means that we can be very ambitious in our plans to improve the courses and attract high profile events over the coming years,” he added.