Coventry is seeing the start of work on a new £6 million headquarters for the Camping and Caravanning club – a project that will create more than 40 new jobs and make the city a centre for national training courses.

Britain’s top club for all forms of camping called on developers Stoford to develop and fit-out its new 30,000 sq ft high-tech HQ and training centre at Westwood Business Park on land bought from the city council. Fusion is providing project managing services.

The development, which is due for completion in spring 2004, will be three times the size of the club’s previous site on the same business park.

The eco-friendly building will incorporate rainwater harvesting, where by processed rainwater will be used to flush lavatories, in line with a new Green campaign that the club is pursuing at its 93 campsites.

David Welsford, director general of the Camping and Caravanning Club, said: “With staff numbers having risen to over 100, and another 40 required, we are now too big for our present HQ. Our new site will enable us to accommodate and train our staff and members and expand our Carefree travel service, which sends 70,000 people to 17 countries each year, as well as serve our 93 local branches even better.”