Richard Lowe and Padraig O' hUallachain of Coillte Land Solutions at Killykeen Forest Park with JP Ledwidge and Olivia Hutchinson of CABÜ.

Inside Story: Seeing the wood from the trees in Killykeen

INSIDE STORY The new owners of the 74-acre lakeside cabin complex at Killykeen have grand designs to transform the retreat into a bespoke ‘staycation’ destination. JP Ledwidge and Olivia Hutchinson aim to employ up to 80 people (including in construction) phase  and are determined to engage with local stakeholders in developing the site as a lucrative tourist hub, as The Anglo-Celt’s Seamus Enright found out.

 

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“They're calling it cabin fever, that's the tagline they've come up with and the one we keep hearing. It’s a sector that's growing by between 30-40% year on year,” explains JP, who steadfastly believes the former holiday village near Killeshandra can once again claim a significant foothold on the national and international tourist map.

For now, the complex of 28 existing Scandi-style holiday homes and ancillary buildings have the eerily distinct air of the legend of the Marie Celeste about them. Built back in the late-’80s to showcase the potential of Irish timber, aside from freshly mown lawns preened to present the site at its most sellable, the complex now stands frozen in time from when Coillte decided to shut up shop following the foot-and-mouth crisis of 2002.
Huddled from rain inside the foyer of the complex's reception centre, postcards printed by Webster Burke in the mid-to-late 1990s litter the desk alongside dog-eared brochures. In the window stands a plaque from Bord Failte, beneath a sun-bleached poster extolling the virtues of the Killykeen holiday village as a “break with a difference in a forest lakeside setting”.
But it’s that very offering which JP and Olivia are so fixated upon, enough so to bid in excess of the €750,000 asking price to ensure they were in pole-position to seal the deal for the forestry real estate.
“We bid in excess of the asking price to secure it, that's how serious we are about here. We didn't want things to go that way,” says JP pointing downwards, “we wanted to actually get it.”
Noting “strong interest” among other potential bidders following the downward revision of the initial €1m sale prices, Olivia confirms: “We had to be firm. We had to act fast, so we bid in excess of the asking price. We have a clear plan of what we want to do here. It’s already the perfect site. The blueprint is there for what we want to achieve.”

Capital

JP and Olivia's paths crossed more than a decade ago when working for the same property development firm in London. Wicklow-born property consultant JP moved to England before his teens, while qualified chartered surveyor Olivia is a native of Tandragee in County Armagh.
Three-years-ago while working for Clerkenwell-based Silvertown Properties they capitalised in purchasing family-run timber firm Cowley Timber & Partners, renowned for complex geodesic constructs, and instantly established their unique design-led CABÜ modular building brand.
But it’s their Clerkenwell grounding that has provided the opportunity through which all else has followed. The gentrification and regeneration of a once-undervalued Islington borough, close to the uber-hip Shoreditch area, provided ample scope for advancing highly profitable high-end residential and commercial schemes.
With a portfolio worth an estimated £2 billion under Silvertown's now wealthy belt, JP admits: “We've benefited hugely from the success of Clerkenwell over the last 10 to 15 years, which realistically has given us the capital to be able to venture into other businesses and projects.”
Their commitment to pumping life back into the Killykeen site, backed by war chest worth €4m was key reason Coillte chose theirs as the winning bid. Promising to reinstate the lapsed planning permission and add 20 more of their own CABÜ-style cabins, upgrade the equestrian centre, boathouse with its 10 boat berths and establish a spa on site, the duo haven't held back in their ambition when citing a reopening date circa Easter next year.
Speaking to the Celt now on their third visit to Cavan and Killykeen, it was their first trip up the Sitka Spruce decked avenue that sealed their ambition to develop the site as one of what they hope will be several acquired across the country.
“Straight away we saw the potential, it’s hard not to. It’s right in front of you,” states Olivia, as JP notes how “pleasantly surprised” they were in initially viewing the unmistakable ochre-red cabins, despite initially being on the fence based on what they had seen in brochure form.
“It was far better than we imagined it would be. Literally from when we first came in through the gate and the first few cabins, we both could see the potential for the place and we knew we wanted to develop our plans here.”
Surveying every building before hand it has held up remarkably well over the years, with Coillte maintaining the grounds as best they could.
“Once the creative juices started flowing, the enthusiasm for the place really comes from that. When we had the opportunity to bid we didn't think twice, and we were lucky enough that that was accepted,” adds JP, who describes the prospect of starting work at the Killykeen complex as “mouth-watering”.
“We want to reinstate the old lapsed planning for the site, which were to improve some of these amenities, put up some new cabins, some improvements are needed down at the equestrian end, and then bring our own buildings and make the whole thing relevant to CABÜ.”

Risk

With any investment there is an accepted element of risk, but despite the impacts already evident on regional business as a result of uncertainty surrounding Brexit, JP and Olivia are confident the renovated site can rub against the grain in terms of attracting visitors.
“Ireland is in Europe. This is a site in Europe. We intend to acquire another two sites in Ireland over the forthcoming years, and we'll concentrate on this one as the first. We don't see Brexit as a risk to this site, but what we envisage is, people may holiday closer to home. They're already going less further away on European tours, and home stays are becoming a more and more affordable option for families and couples,”affirms JP.
Grimacing at the mock-suggestion of a Butlins in the trees, JP believes that the Killykeen complex was “ahead of its time” in what it was attempting.
“The idea of putting together a luxury set of cabins in the woods beside a fantastic body of water, the appeal of that has just gotten stronger and stronger.
“People are always on the look out for an authentic experience. It’s going to be straight back to nature, all very natural.”
Hoping to create up to 40 jobs once fully up and running, with a further 40 in the construction phase, JP says their aim now as owners is not to “alienate” anyone through what they have planned.
While accepting it will be a private holiday site, as it was previously, he says: “We intend on working with the community. There is a lot of construction work that has to take place, so we want to fit in. There is going to be food that needs to be bought locally, it’s going to be run pretty much locally.”
He adds: “We feel lucky we've been able to purchase this site, we're excited by it and we're determined to get on with our plans for it as quickly as we can.
“We've formed a great relationship with Coillte in completing this deal and we hope to work with them in identifying future sites too. But for here, it’s all about getting our plans into the council as quickly as possible and get the ball rolling on this.”