Our Vision
Puy du Fou wants to create a new British cultural and historical attraction.
A British Puy du Fou will be a place where visitors can walk in a beautiful wooded park with stunning landscaped gardens, where they can immerse themselves in British history with carefully curated period villages; and where they can experience a series of world-class live shows based on the country’s history, which will amaze the whole family.
We want to deliver an exemplar in sustainable development, benefiting the local economy and environment.
Our Masterplan
The early concept, a work in progress that will develop and evolve over the next months, has been thoughtfully designed to deliver the Puy du Fou experience whilst also enhancing the local environment.
We have put great thought into how we can be a good neighbour to Bucknell and the surrounding villages. The park will be designed to minimise any impact on our nearest neighbours.
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It will blend seamlessly into the landscape
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Nearby homes will be screened from noise by green planting and landscaping
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Traffic will be carefully managed to avoid impact on local roads
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Important local woodlands will be protected and enhanced
This concept will continue to evolve over the coming months as we engage in discussions with all the neighbors and local communities.
Our priority is to protect and enhance the site
Heritage
The proposed site does not contain any designated heritage assets, such as a listed building, scheduled monument, conservation area or registered park and garden.
There are a number of listed buildings and conservation areas located in the surrounding area, but most are some distance from the site and any impacts can be mitigated by strengthening the planting around the boundary of the site.
Archaeology
The use of the site as predominantly arable farmland means it is highly unlikely that it will contain archaeological remains of sufficient significance to require their physical conservation. However, further investigation and assessment will be undertaken.
Landscape
The site does not include any part of a nationally designated landscape. There are views into the site from the north, particularly around the southern edge of Stoke Wood, and from the south, around the northern fringes of Bucknell. However, in contrast, the site’s western fringes are dominated by the traffic on the M40 motorway and the landfill site and incinerator at Ardley.
Ecology
The site is not included within any European protected sites and none is located within 15km of its boundary. Whilst there are two nationally designated ‘Sites of Special Scientific Interest’ (SSSIs) within 2km of the site, neither is likely to be affected by development.
The site does contain one ‘locally designated’ site (Twelve Acre Copse Local Wildlife Site) and two other areas of ancient woodland (Great Copse and Nettle Copse), whilst the central area is included within the Tusmore and Shellswell Park Conservation Target Area (or CTA).
A broad range of detailed surveys have been commissioned and are ongoing to determine the site’s ecological interest (notably Great Crested Newts, bats, birds, reptiles and Brown Hairstreak butterflies). So far, the results of the surveys have identified a mix of species which is representative of the generally poor and degraded habitats found on arable farmland.
In view of these results, there are opportunities to deliver significant Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), particularly through restoration of ancient woodland and the creation of new habitats from landscaping and boundary planting.
The Site
The site is near Junction 10 the M40 motorway in Oxfordshire, roughly three kilometres north of Bicester, near the village of Bucknell.
