Plans for a new Therme spa, wellness centre and water park opening near Liverpool have been revealed.
The UK's first all-season beach will open inside the huge Therme Manchester, an indoor resort and spa opening at TraffordCity. The £250m well-being resort and waterpark will be built where Event City currently sits next to the Trafford Centre.
The venue was initially expected to open in late 2023 but this has now been set back to 2025, reports the MEN . Therme's "next generation waterpark" will boast 20 pools and 35 water slides, thermal bathing and a wellbeing spa.
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Bosses have now announced further details, including immersive digital art features as well as an on-site urban farm and botanical gardens. The huge site will sit inside glass domes on the TraffordCity site, next to Trafford Palazzo in Manchester.
According to bosses, the combination of features highlights Therme’s aim to be more than just a waterpark and spa. It is aiming to "create an integrated experience to benefit physical and mental health".
Therme’s updated plans are being delivered in partnership with Peel L&P and will use the latest technology to make the development more sustainable and deliver additional features for visitors. This includes the world’s first "living waterslides" with a 3D printed superstructure to house thousands of plants, as part of its ‘next generation’ water park area.
Therme has also announced that it will include a visitor and education centre on site, as part of its outreach work. This will be where school and community groups can learn about sustainability, food and nature.
Bosses have renewed their commitment to progress with the project, though building work will now not begin until 2023. This means the planned opening has now been pushed back to around 2025. When it opens Therme Manchester will become the UK's largest indoor waterpark.
Stelian Iacob, senior vice president of Therme Group and CEO of Therme Group UK, said: “Our commitment to bring Therme Manchester to the UK is as strong as ever. Expert independent studies have shown the hugely positive economic and social impact that Therme Manchester will have, helping to create jobs, economic prosperity and bringing health and wellbeing to the daily lives of millions of guests.”
James Whittaker, Executive Director of Development at Peel L&P, added: “We are proud to be working in partnership with Therme Group to develop this exceptional wellbeing resort in TraffordCity. Therme Manchester will lead the way in health and wellbeing and with the updated plans now including the UK’s first all-season urban beach and the world’s first living waterslides.
"We are excited to continue working with Therme Manchester to deliver this innovative health and wellbeing experience in TraffordCity, the UK’s foremost retail, leisure and commercial destination.”
Therme is aiming to submit its revised plans to Trafford Council in the summer, with construction of the development scheduled to begin in 2023. There is an expected build time of around two years.
Therme Manchester will be the first of the company’s planned UK sites for the "urban oasis", with plans to also take it to Glasgow, London and Wales in the future. The UK rollout reflects Therme’s ‘90/90’ vision, working to make a Therme accessible to 90% of the UK population within a 90-minute travel time.
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