CPL completes Heythrop Park Resort upgrade
- Details
Heythrop Park Resort is a luxury venue set in 440 acres of stunning Oxfordshire Countryside and dating back to 1710. It currently has two hotels, an 18-hole golf course, a health club & spa and state-of-the-art conference facilities including a ballroom with capacity for 300 – 400 guests (in banqueting or theatre style respectively), the Conference Theatre which can hold 400 delegates and the charismatics Enstone Room for up to 200.
The latest plans have seen the addition of a marquee which can be configured as a 650-seater banqueting hall or an 800 capacity theatre space which will further expand the available resources to host a diverse selection of conferences and events.
A new audio system is at the heart of the refurbishment project, which has been designed and optimised for the theatre space to provide the clean, high clarity well focused audio demanded by clients.
These specifications and packages have all been fine-tuned and co-ordinated by Simon Haydon and Richard Burrow from CPL in close collaboration with Heythrop resort director Paul Russell.
A d&b Y8 line array with subs was chosen, powered by the new d&b D20 amps, with an Allen & Heath 24 channel digital console. Also integral to the audio package is a Shure UR4 mic system.
The stage itself has been completely renovated. It has new boards and carpet, a new set of steps for access plus a new lectern.
“Clean-looking, practical and with a twist of contemporary was the look we aimed for,” explained Richard.
There is now a 5m wide edgeless projection screen, suspended on discreet steel wires giving the appearance of it floating in air! It is fed by a 20K Panasonic projector. Behind this is a smart grey drape bringing stylish modernism to the stage area, and on the reverse of the screen, strips of LED tape have been applied in optimal positions to light the drape adding lots of texture and depth to the space.
There is also a selection of day-to-day AV and conference kit available on site for the various different clients, and ‘extras’ packages can be arranged for the Theatre, as well as the other conferences spaces including the Enstone Suite, the Ballroom and the Marquee.
New lighting fixtures include a compliment of ARRI L7 LED fresnels and ETC Source Four Studio HD profiles for a high-quality LED solution. “We like to be as green as possible when it comes to lighting, especially for a constantly busy environment,” confirms Richard.
CPL’s team will be providing site-wide technical support and project management at Heythrop, a resource that will be available to all the venue’s clients.
CPL has also been appointed as technical supplier for The Studio complex of meeting and conference rooms in central Birmingham.This will involve combined skills and resources from three CPL divisions – Rental, Technical and Venue Services.
This busy event venue has 18 different spaces all in constant use and CPL’s Joe Cartwright is now based on-site to ensure that all the day-to-day technical needs are dealt with quickly and smoothly including providing PA systems, lighting, cameras and video conferencing.
(Jim Evans)
