Center Parcs Elveden Forest, near Thetford, is celebrating its 35th anniversary this week

A holiday village employing more than 1,900 people is celebrating a major milestone.

Center Parcs Elveden Forest, near Thetford, is celebrating its 35th anniversary this week.

Some 18 staff will also be celebrating 35 years at the village, this year.

The holiday village, which features a range of lodges and activities across 400 acres, has made significant investment in the past year.

This includes a £6.5 million pound refurbishment including 25 multi-sensory experiences - from the Ashiyu Japanese foot baths to the panoramic woodland views inside The Nest sauna.

Nicky Richardson, village director, said: “We’re always looking at how we can improve our offering and have invested significantly.

“The Aqua Sana saw a huge refurbishment to bring our forest spa concept to our guests and more recently we added nine upgraded lodges to test new design ideas for the future.

“It’s been fantastic to see colleagues grow and develop within the business. I am so proud of the team and all we have achieved.”

Center Parcs prides itself on protecting and enhancing woodland locations and has been awarded The Wildlife Trusts’ Biodiversity Benchmark for 17 consecutive years.

A team of dedicated rangers have worked over the last 35 years to create and manage habitats that attract native wildlife.

As a result, Elveden Forest contains some of the most valuable habitats out of the six Center Parcs villages.

It boasts over 70 bird species as well as rare and endangered plants including tower mustard, breckland thyme, Spanish catchfly and a fungi species which is classed as vulnerable to extinction.

Similarly to other Center Parcs UK villages, there was no water before it was built and the waterways have provided habitat for insects, particularly the nationally rare and locally significant lynar yellow underwing moth.