Holiday village company Center Parcs is to close all its UK resorts after the latest lockdown news.
Under the previous three tier system every Center Parcs in the UK was open - apart from Nottingham which had fallen under Tier Three.
The UK villages will close from today (Monday) and will remain closed until at least January 7, the holiday provider confirmed.
Center Parcs said it was closing the sites "with the priority of keeping our guests and staff as safe as possible", Nottinghamshire Live reports.
The decision comes after Boris Johnson announced new lockdown measures to tackle the rising Covid-19 case rates, including shutting non-essential shops in Tier 4 areas.
Anyone who was planning on spending Christmas at one of Center Parc's villages should be sent an email either today or tomorrow.
A statement from Center Parcs reads: "Following the update from the Prime Minister last night (December 19) it is clear that the threat of the virus with the new variant is now at an extremely delicate stage.
"It is therefore with a heavy heart that we have made the decision to close all our UK villages from Monday, December 21 until at least January 7, 2021.
"Our decisions throughout the pandemic have been with the priority of keeping our guests and staff as safe as possible.
"Latest Government advice in all tiers is to avoid non-essential travel outside of local areas and we certainly do not wish to encourage this.
"We know how disappointing this news will be for our guests, especially during this time of year.
"We have not made this decision lightly, but there is clearly concern around the new variant being moved around the country.
"All guests impacted by the closure period will receive an email from us today (December 20) with instructions on how to cancel activities and restaurant reservations and how to reschedule with a discount to the value of £100 or cancel with a full refund."
Affected villages include Sherwood Forest, Elveden Forest, Longleat Forest, Whinfell Forest and Woburn Forest.
All guests due to arrive between December 21 and January 7 will have the option to change dates with £100 discount or cancel and claim a full refund. out a form.
If you are looking to contact Center Parcs directly, opening times for calls, social and webchat are as follows:
Christmas Eve – 9am to 1pm
Christmas Day – closed
Boxing Day – closed
December 27 – 10am to 3pm
December 28 – 10am to 3pm
December 29 – 9am to 5.30pm
December 30 – 9am to 5.30pm
December 31 – 9am to 1pm
January 1 – closed
