Wavegarden Bristol se muda

Según se comenta en la prensa inglesa estos días, Wavegarden Bristol, el primer proyecto de ola estática con la tecnología de Wavegarden ha decidido cambiar de ubicación sus instalaciones.

Según uno de los fundadores del proyecto la razón se debe a la falta de espacio para albergar la ola. "Estuvimos este verano en las instalaciones de Wavegarden para ver la última versión de la ola, que es espectacular, y se evidenció que necesitamos más espacio del que originalmente pensamos para que salga lo mejor posible, y albergar otros elementos como jardines o espacios educacionales".
El equipo ha identificado ya dos lugares que se acomodan a sus necesidades y ya está en negociaciones para su adquisición.

No es el único cambio significativo en el proyecto, ya que también han cambiado de nombre. Han pasado de ser Wavegarden Bristol ha llamarse The Wave: Brisol. La razón del cambio es simplemente la de diferenciarse del resto de wavegardens que se están proyectando en otros lugares del mundo.

"Estamos tan entusiasmados de ver el éxito de la ola a tamaño completo de Wavegarden, que pensamos honestamente que el el proyecto será más grande y mejor que el que habíamos previsto." declaró Nick Hounsfield, cofundador de The Wave: Bristol.


El proyecto, presupuestado en 5 millones de libras, unos 6 millones de euros, prevé realizar una piscina de 450 metros de largo por 80 de ancho que garantizará olas de metro y medio de altura cada 90 segundos, y una duración de cada ola de 55 segundos. El coste se ha estimado entre ocho y diez euros por hora.

Os dejo a continuación la nota de prensa:

Major Developments for Bristol’s Surf Lake

The team behind plans to create a unique in-land surfing experience in Bristol has today announced the first in a series of major developments - most significantly securing all the investment needed to take the project through the planning process and up to the point of construction.

The company has used the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) - a government scheme aimed at helping start-ups raise finance more easily - as the vehicle to secure the majority of this investment. To date the project has
secured its ‘Phase 1’ target investment of £0.25million, via a mix of private investment and in-kind contributions.

Co-founder, Tobin Coles comments: “Phase 1 investment is absolutely crucial to the success of any venture and the fact we have secured it in this tricky economic time demonstrates the confidence that there is in this project. In addition securing expert professional advice from companies such as Burges Salmon and Deloitte has been invaluable, making the team and our offer even stronger.

“We are in advanced discussion with a number of potential investors for sums in the region of £4.75million for ‘Phase 2’, on condition of a planning application being approved. The scope of what we are planning to create has evolved over the last months and the investment opportunity it provides is even more appealing.”

The evolution of the project is also the reason that the team has made the decision to move away from its original preferred site. As plans have developed it is clear that the project has outgrown this site and much larger sites are now being considered to allow it to reach its full potential.

Co-founder, Nick Hounsfield, explains: “We went to Spain this summer to see the latest version of the Wavegarden technology, which is spectacular, and it became evident that we needed more space than originally anticipated to
accommodate the very best surfing experience, and still do justice to the other key elements such as healing gardens, activity gardens, herb gardens and education spaces. As much as we loved many aspects of the initial preferred
site we realised it would constrain the project and therefore we have decided to look at two other options.”