A magical ‘Winter Wonderland’ in Swinley Forest could be open longer than normal this year if exciting plans are approved.
Every year, Lapland UK holds a Winter Wonderland’ to celebrate the festive season. It sees Swinley Forest transformed into a bustling attraction where visitors can meet elves, reindeers and Father Christmas.
Lapland UK is located at Whitmoor Bog in Swinley Road, Ascot, on land which is owned by the Crown Estate.
Setting up the site involves building all the temporary structures, which include Father Christmas’ grotto, ‘elf shacks’, reindeer stables and performance areas.
There are also portacabins for staff at the attraction.
This year, Lapland UK has applied to expand the Winter Wonderland open days, from Monday, November 1, to Saturday, January 15, 2022.
In normal years, the Winter Wonderland runs from November 15 to December 24 (Christmas Eve) and then reopens from January 2 to January 15.
The adjusted times mean construction workers need access to the site earlier than usual. Lapland UK is proposing having access to the site from September 23 to build the site. After that, all temporary structures must be packed up no later than February 8.
In normal years, the construction crew can begin working on the site on October 1 and must have everything packed up by January 31.
So far, the plan to expand the opening times has received two objections from those living nearby.
One objector, from Ascot, wrote: “The forest is already disturbed from approximately October through to March and takes months to recover from Lapland’s occupation of the site.
“Despite permission for use granted on the condition that the land is returned to its previous state, as a regular user of the forest I would categoricallycontend that this is not the case.
“The forest undergrowth is churned, paths become waterlogged and vegetation is destroyed. Further extending the period of use would give the forest even less time to recover. The noise generated by Lapland UK affects those of us living nearby and I would strongly resist any extension to Lapland’s use of the site.”
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Another objector from Ascot has opposed the plan because the setup and dismantling of the site causes disruption, noise and disturbance, the event leads to increase traffic, and that public access to the forest is hindered because areas of it are cordoned off for Winter Wonderland to take place.
Lapland UK is located within Bracknell Forest. The plan to expand the amount of days the Winter Wonderland takes place will therefore be decided by Bracknell Forest Council’s planning department.
You can view the plans by entering planning reference 21/00347/FUL into the Bracknell Forest planning portal at https://planapp.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/online-applications/.
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