Development Phase One Update

Phase one of the development of Finchale Abbey caravan park into an eco-friendly village style residential development of 53 lodges started in September 2004. By February 2005 all ground work was completed and in March the first lodge was sited and the first residents moved onto the park. This page charts the progress of this first phase of development, ‘St Godric’s Walk’ to show how it has changed and matured as more lodges and residents have joined us.

‘St Godric’s Walk’ September 2005

Even in October our residents were making the most of the lovely weather and beautiful surroundings to get out and have a drink with the neighbours!

Mr and Mrs Woods joined us in October, their home was specially designed to be wheelchair friendly and a ramp was added for access. The home is open plan and has the benefit of a skylight which helps the lodge to feel really bright and spacious inside.

‘St Godric’s Walk’ November 2005

Mr and Mrs Wood are now happily enjoying their new home, they love the feeling of being out in the country and even spotted three deer walking along the side of the reed bed from their living room window within a few weeks of moving in.
Everyone was very impressed except Mr Storey who is still waiting to see the local deer up close!

Mr and Mrs Wood had a ramp to the front door of their lodge allowing them easy access, this would be invaluable for any disabled resident but can be adapted to suit any purpose.

‘St Godric’s Walk’ December 2005

Mr and Mrs Woods felt as though they were living inside a Christmas card when the snow arrived at Finchale over the festive period and Mr and Mrs Storey have celebrated their best ever Christmas!

The snow really did help the park to look at its most beautiful, Eric was on hand each morning with his snow plough to ensure that everyone got safely about and everyone joined together and helped each other if needed.

Mr & Mrs Sibley moved into number three St Godric’s Walk in February.

When Spring finally arrived the residents were all busy planting with the surroundings bringing out their green fingered sides. Mr and Mrs Storey had a beautiful display of crocuses and daffodils surrounding their lodge.

Mr and Mrs Hodgekiss chose a slightly different design to their decking, while still being made from Extrudawood the deck has an added detailed panel which works really well.

Mr and Mrs Sibley had a gate attached to their decking to keep their dog in; it’s also proving useful for keeping the granddaughter safe on the stairs.

Mr and Mrs Hodgkiss had a beautiful display of flowers around their lodge in the summer and made the most of the wild flowers growing on the bank behind their property.

‘St Godric’s Walk’ July 2006

Arthur Watson joined the team in August to work as the park joiner. Arthur has completed several decks around lodges and has also clad the laundrette using the Extrudawood material.

Although the housing market has been slower than we would have liked this year plots have been selling fast and have been reserved in preparation for the lodges arrival once houses are sold and funds become available.

Plots are available to be reserved on phase two, see phase two for more details.

Everything on the park grew well with the sunshine and showers over the summer months. The reed bed is well established and even the local birds have done a spot of gardening of their own spreading seeds around the park.

An Overview taken at the end of October 2006.

All lodges on this section of the park have now been added. The aerial photograph below was taken on the 1^st December and shows how far we have come since the beginning of the year.

Since this photograph was taken two more lodges have been added to the park. Mr and Mrs Armitage and Mrs Sowerby’s lodges have been added to the two right hand plots in the foreground of the picture. As these plots are slightly elevated and Mr and Mrs Armitages plot in particular backs into a hillside it was not possible to site them using the tractors as previous homes have been sited. In these cases a crane was used to lift the homes into position.

The crane had a 60 tonne lifting capacity and positioned the front half of the home first to ensure it was square on the base before lifting the second half of the home over the top of the first! It was a nervous moment for onlookers but the team siting the homes were very professional and completed the job with the utmost of ease.

We are looking forward to Mr and Mrs Armitage and Mrs Sowerby joining us at the end of the week in good time to get their decorations up in time for Christmas!

Arthur Watson, the park joiner, has been constructing sheds to owners specifications, from Extrudawood to provide external storage for lodge owners.

Back to development page.

Last updated – 31^st January 2007

For more information on the Park, our new development and availability of residential plots
please call Ann on 0191 3866528 or E-mail: godricawatson@hotmail.com