Blenheim backs £600m historical theme park plan

Plans to build a £600m historical theme park in the Oxfordshire countryside would provide a "significant strategic opportunity" for the county, the CEO of Blenheim Palace has said.

Dominic Hare, from the UNESCO World Heritage site, told Cherwell District Council that Puy du Fou's proposals for the site near Bicester would bring "genuine variety and ambition".

The French firm submitted its proposals, which includes four period villages, to the council last year.

But local campaigners have criticised Blenheim's support and its associations with the controversial political positions of its founder.

In a letter to Cherwell District Council, Hare said the "arrival of another world-class, award-winning visitor attraction" in the local area would provide a "significant strategic opportunity".

"The economic contribution of a tourism asset of this calibre would be substantial and lasting," he wrote, urging the council to approve the application.

Under Puy du Fou's proposals, the site - near to the M40 - would include four themed villages, 13 live performance spaces, landscaped gardens, restaurants and a conference centre, as well as three hotels based on historical eras.

The company already has history-themed parks in Les Epesses in France and Toledo, Spain - where it showcases historical events depicting the Roman Empire and figures like Joan of Arc.

Hare said Blenheim staff had visited the parks and had come away "genuinely admiring what they have built".

"The scale, complexity and originality of their productions, combined with the care they invest in their visitor experience and their constructive relationships with surrounding communities, left a strong impression," he added.

But in an open letter addressed to Hare, Bucknell Parish Council chair Patrick Woodrow criticised his support for the scheme, and the palace's ensuing association with Puy du Fou's founder and president, Philippe de Villiers.

De Villiers is seen as an often outspoken political figure in France

In his letter, Woodrow said Blenheim Palace stood as a "monument" to its former resident, Sir Winston Churchill, who "led Britain in the struggle against authoritarian nationalism".

"It would be a bitter irony if that same institution were now seen to champion a project associated with those who admire such regimes," he wrote.

"Many will find it profoundly troubling that your letter unequivocally prioritises the pursuit of tourist dollars over the principles associated with Blenheim's most famous son."

Responding to the letter, Puy du Fou said the authority had "no mandate" for its "obsessive and niche agenda".

Addressing concerns around de Villiers, the company said it was "actually run by an operational board" of 10 executive directors who report to a chief executive and chairman "like any large international business" and explained de Villiers had not held political office for "well over a decade".

De Villiers has also been linked with Vladimir Putin after proposing the construction of a theme park in Crimea - following the Russian annexation of the Black Sea peninsula in 2014.

Puy du Fou said the "untrue conspiracy theory" was a "recycled attempt to besmirch" it.

"In common with many international businesses, well over a decade ago Puy du Fou explored opening a park in Russia and were caught off guard by the rapid deterioration of the geopolitical situation in Russia and Crimea," the company said.

"Quite properly we cancelled this initiative once the international sanctions regime was established. The Russia project never went beyond an outline concept," it added.

Cherwell District Council is expected to make a decision on the plan by the end of March.

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