Generating £9.3 Billion Spending

Posted on February 28, 2019

Generating £9.3 Billion Spending

Holiday parks and campsites around the UK generate £9.3bn in visitor expenditure and support 171,448 full-time employees, a major report has revealed. The independent report, ‘Pitching the Value’, is the first time holiday parks and campsites across the UK have been analysed to show the value of the sector to the nation’s economy. ‘Pitching the Value’, which focusses on the economic impact of the sector together with the health and wellbeing benefits of such holidays, was carried out by Frontline Consultants on behalf of the UK Caravan and Camping Alliance (UKCCA). The alliance is an umbrella group comprising The National Caravan Council, The Camping and Caravanning Club, the Caravan and Motorhome Club, and the British Holiday & Home Parks Association. Bob Hill, who led the UKCCA joint working group, said: “This is a ground-breaking report that clearly demonstrates the important benefits to the economy brought by the UK’s many holiday parks and campsites. “Pitching the Value will help the industry attract more investment and ultimately improve opportunities for it to grow, develop and create new jobs. Our findings reinforce the importance of holiday parks and campsites to the country’s tourism economy. That will help us to improve holidaymakers’ on-site experiences and choice, which in turn will also attract more overseas visitors to these shores.”

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

Holiday Park and Campsite operators also support local communities through capital and operating expenditure, and wages. Nearly half of those companies and organisations that took part in the report cumulatively spend nearly £303 million per year in this way. The research also found they engage with local communities through support for events such as fundraising activities, participate in recycling and environmental initiatives, and promote healthy active lifestyles in the great outdoors through pastimes such as walking and cycling. The four sponsoring organisations of the UKCCA own or are affiliated to 6,243 holiday parks and campsites across the UK with a combined total of 438,076 pitches. Those sites offer holidaymakers a diverse range of accommodation such as touring pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes, rented holiday homes, lodges, and chalets, plus glamping units like tipis and yurts, together with a wide selection of on-site facilities. Bob added: “We want to use this compelling evidence to ensure key influencers and decision-makers support the development and growth of our industry at a national, regional and individual business level for the benefit of our economy and for holidaymakers themselves.”

Visit www.ukcca.org.uk for further information or to download a copy of the Pitching the Value report.

A Going Concern

Posted on January 10, 2019

A Going Concern

ABOVE: Red Deer Village at Stepps is only one of a handful of residential parks for the over 50s throughout Scotland.

Returning north of the border after many years living in southern England and abroad, brothers John and Ivan Hendry were surprised to find that Scotland’s park owners had not embraced the trend for luxury residential park living they had seen elsewhere. Red Deer Village at Stepps, on the doorstep of Glasgow, is still only one of a handful of retirement villages for the over 50’s throughout Scotland – and is the only one in North Lanarkshire. The Hendry family have owned the land since 2004 when they first purchased Red Deer Village Holiday Park as a going concern. Spotting a gap in the market fi ve years ago, the family vowed to introduce high quality residential homes to the region. Today, Red Deer Village is home to over 80 residents across 57 park homes on a beautifully landscaped site adjacent to the fi ve star rated holiday park. New homes are currently selling from a third phase of 30 park homes, and the park will eventually featurea total of 187 homes spread across five development phases. After five years of operation, John Hendry says he is surprised not to have seen more of this type of development in Scotland by now. “Whilst it’s very special to be only one of a handful of residential villages offering this concept, we would like to see an expansion of this sector in Scotland. We’re not scared of competition! It would be a good thing, as we are confi dent that our product is the very best it can be.” The Hendry brothers manage the park with the help of 14 staff, their children and sister Ashleigh, who is responsible for designing the interiors of all the luxury park homes at Red Deer Village.

RAISING AWARENESS

ABOVE: In September 2018, the Scottish park celebrated the first anniversary of its bespoke community hub, built by Pathfinder Homes.

The homes in the park are sourced from leading supplier Stately Albion, and finished with unique touches by interior designer Ashleigh that reflect the park’s Scottish heritage. According to the team, a particular challenge is raising awareness that purchasing a home in a residential park like Red Deer is an attractive financial solution for downsizing in your 50s, rather than just a housing option for very elderly people. A strong sense of community shared amongst like-minded people is one of the key benefi ts of park home living and Red Deer Village is a prime example of a park that really does put its residential community at its heart. In September 2018, the Scottish park celebrated the fi rst anniversary of its custom-built community hub, a £450k building created by Pathfi nder Homes, and the fi rst of its kind in the UK.

MEETING HUB

ABOVE: The homes int he park are sourced from leading supplier Stately Albion. Pictured Stately Albion Kensington.

“The hub has become the focus of the park,” says John Hendry. “We have left what goes on here in terms of entertainment and socialising entirely up to the residents – it’s their space, and I think they have done a great job!” The hub is a completely bespoke building with a comfortable interior and outside decked area. Inside, there is a cosy fire, sofas, coffee area, luxury soft furnishings, toilets, and several individual rooms and offi ces. The hub is the meeting point for a wide range of resident groups and activities each week, and local MSP Fulton MacGregor even holds a regular surgery here. “We had an office type building here before but it was nothing like the hub,” says John. “This really is a luxurious, state of the art facility, and we feel it’s a real asset to the park overall.” According to John, as well as being justifiably popular with residents, the hub is also proving to make sound financial sense. “Close to half a million pounds was a signifi cant investment for our business and the hub took almost two years to come to fruition. However, since it’s launch, there is a marked increase in business, with more residents downsizing to a new lifestyle on our park.”

ABOVE: Red Deer Village takes its eco-credentials seriously and the park has won numerous Silver BH&HPA David Bellamy Conservation Awards, and has achieved Gold for the last three years.

WIDER COMMUNITY
Giving back to the wider community is also central to life at Red Deer Village. Supported by the Hendry family, the park residents have raised many hundreds of pounds for charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, with coffee mornings, sponsored activities and their Christmas Light Switch On Extravaganza. The park also takes its responsibility for their smallest residents seriously too. Over time, Red Deer Village has picked up numerous Silver BH&HPA David Bellamy Conservation Awards and has achieved Gold for the last three years. The park has a full time team of in-house gardeners who plant honey bee friendly plants and native British trees, as well as incorporating many wild hedgerow areas into its landscaping. There are two rainwater ponds on the park, which are chemical free and home to numerous toads, frogs, newts, dragonfl ies, birds, and fish. The park has even created a fox den in the waste stone yard. Ivan Hendry says: “David Bellamy believes you can live or holiday at a park which is both attractive to look at and which contributes towards bio diversity. Our conservation projects help to maintain that all-important habitat, and minimise any threat to the natural world through sustainable and eco-friendly development.”

Tourism Tax Is Backward Business Step

Posted on November 3, 2017

Tourism Tax Is Backwards Business Step

The owner of a major holiday parks group in Wales has told ministers they risk devastating the visitor economy if they push ahead with a tourism tax.

Thomas Scarrott, owner of Vale Holiday Parks, said that such a move would undermine all the fantastic work done by the Welsh Government to encourage tourism.

Thomas warned that a visitor levy would hit not just accommodation providers such as his seven parks but would also have a damaging knock-on effect on the many businesses which rely on the tourism industry such as pubs, shops, cafes and visitor attractions. “Many of these are smaller family-owned businesses such as Vale Holidays which sustain thousands of jobs throughout Wales,” said Thomas.

“Reported industry figures show that tourism is worth around £5bn to the Welsh economy, with more than 10 million overnight stays being recorded annually.” He highlighted this year’s £5m Visit Wales’ Year of Legends campaign which, he said: “Did a great job in promoting the many different experiences on offer to Wales’ holiday visitors. The only possible consequence of a tourism tax, would be fewer visitors and an additional administration burden on tourism businesses.”

Thomas’s family has been involved with the parks industry for almost 50 years, providing holiday homes to rent and to own, and pitches for touring caravans, motorhomes and tents. Ministers say they will decide early next year on which of the four possible taxes they would prefer to implement, subject to go-ahead from the UK Government. Meanwhile, the park industry body BH&HPA and many of its park members in Wales are making urgent representations to Welsh ministers and assembly members.

Death By Drowning For Stricken Parks

Posted on March 8, 2016

Death By Drowning For Stricken Parks

Flood waters caused damage to parks in the North.

Severe storms battered the UK at the end of last year, causing devastating floods and damage to a number of holiday parks in the North of the country.

In light of the recent floods, Britain’s Secretary of State for tourism has been told that Northern England’s visitor industry could suffer ‘death by drowning’ if more attention isn’t paid to maintaining the region’s waterways.

The warning was delivered by chairman of the BH&HPA Henry Wild at a major London tourism conference. Mr Wild said that the aftermath of December’s deluges had shown the potentially devastating impact that flooding could have on the tourism industry, particulary in Cumbria and Lancashire. He said there needed to be a body appointed with clearly defined responsibilities for ensuring that waterways were capable of removing surface water from the land.

“It appears that many holidaymakers have been heeding the message that Cumbria is determined to be back on its feet by spring with repairs made to much of our damaged infrastructure,” he said.

“We now need a clear road map which identifies the agency and the resources available to it for tackling the problem of an ever-rising water table.”

Deeside Holiday Park in Aberdeenshire was totally submerged when the nearby River Dee burst its banks due to heavy rain gales were swept in by Storm Frank. Residents, guests and staff were evacuated on December 30 at 2pm and by 3.30pm the entire site was underwater. Flood water surged through the park once more on January 3, causing further destruction.

“The park has been completely devastated,” explains Sarah Wood MacGregor of Wood Leisure, owners of Deeside Park.

“The reception is the only building left standing as it is on higher ground but everything else, including all the lodges, holiday homes and caravans have been demolished.

“We had some flood defences in place, but as a fairly low risk area no one could have predicted the sheer volume and power of the water that hit the park. We are just counting our lucky stars that no-one was injured.”

A major clean-up operation is underway at Deeside as water levels began to subside. Wood Leisure hopes that the park will be up and running again in time for the summer season.

Sarah adds: “We are remaining optimistic, but we have a long road ahead. We will be investing in new flood defences and hope to have some parts of the park open in the spring.”

A recent report by specialist insurance broker Towergate revealed that over the past five years, more than a third of small businesses have experienced property damage from bad weather. Yet three in five aren’t insured against flooding, high winds, thunder and lightning, snow, ice or hail – risking footing the bill for £74,000 worth of property damage on average.

Commenting on the findings, Drew Wotherspoon from Towergate, said: “Small businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy, but too many firms are not protecting themselves against the erratic nature of British weather, leaving themselves open to footing the bill for substantial damages and losing out on business earnings.

“It’s vital that small business owners take heed of weather warnings and take precautionary measures to allow them to weather the storm and get back to business as quickly as possible.”

High Praise For Scottish Parks

Posted on February 23, 2016

High Praise For Scottish Parks

The British Holiday & Home Parks Association (Scotland) was attended
by many senior members of BH&HPA Scotland’s 200-plus park businesses.

Providers of ‘fresh air holidays’ in Scotland met in Edinburgh in December to hear tourism minister Fergus Ewing praise their invaluable support of rural economies. Mr Ewing was speaking at the annual conference of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association (Scotland) attended by many senior members of BH&HPA; Scotland’s 200-plus park businesses. The event brought together the managers and owners of businesses credited with generating just over £700m of visitor spending annually. “The holiday park sector offers good quality accommodation for all types of visitors, and helps to sustain employment in some of Scotland’s most remote and rural areas,” said Mr Ewing. Mr Ewing also noted that parks had also helped contribute to increasing overseas visitor numbers which were up by 4 per cent compared with last year, and their spending up by 10 per cent.

Winter Wonderlands

Posted on November 18, 2015

Winter Wonderlands

Park owners are feeling optimistic about the winter months ahead and are gearing up for busy festive period.

Long gone are the days when the end of the summer signalled a sharp decline in holiday park visitor bookings. Autumn now sees only a minor let-up in the volume of touring guests and holiday home owners, and even the winter months can generate a satisfying hum of activity at parks across the country. Having reaped the rewards of a bumper summer season, park owners are feeling optimistic about the winter months ahead and are gearing up for busy festive period. “Holiday homes and touring units are now much better equipped for four-season use, both in terms of insulation and heating. But what we’re also seeing, I think, is that people no longer regard holidays as something you have to plan for months in advance,” says Henry Wild, director of Skelwith Fold Caravan Park in Cumbria. “There’s a much greater spontaneity to decision-making, perhaps due in part to the way in which the internet and social media are making things happen in the here and now. “If you want to buy a product on-line or communicate via Twitter, for example, it happens almost instantly – so why wait if the idea of a short break suddenly appeals?” Henry continues: “Another motivator for out-of-season bookings, I believe, is that people no longer go away just to relax by slowing their lives down. Both younger families and older folk want to inject an element of activity into their stay, so there’s less reason to limit holidays to the times when the sun is most likely to shine.” Henry, who is also National Chairman of the British Holiday and Home Parks Association, says that many holiday home owners enjoy planning their autumn and winter visits to coincide with stays by others they have come to know on the park. “I think a lot of couples and families value greatly the friendships they have struck up with other owners, and perhaps feel there’s a greater community spirit here among people of a similar age and outlook than they experience back home,” he says.

TAILORED BREAKS

Winter is one of the busiest times of the year at Potters in Norfolk.

Autumn and winter are strong times of the year for Potters Resort in Norfolk when the park has over 700 guests staying there at any one time. Its range of midweek, family, weekend and one night special breaks are all popular during the season and are enhanced by the park’s comprehensive entertainment and activity programme. “We’re open all year round and our prices are kept in line all year round, so a break in November, December and January is pretty much the same price as you’d pay in the spring or summer,” comments managing director John Potter. “We offer midweek breaks for more mature adults featuring tailored activities such as bowls, family breaks featuring family friendly activities and entertainment and weekend with friend and one night special breaks for adults wanting to enjoy their weekend and enjoy great nights out with fantastic entertainment.” A highlight of Potters’ entertainment offering this year is the annual Christmas Spectacular ‘The Great Christmas Songbook’, performed by Potters Theatre Company. The show will take guests on a Sleigh Ride of classic hits, showcasing decades of music from 50s classics such as Frosty The Snowman and Let it Snow, to eighties favourites Merry Christmas Everyone and Last Christmas. During the season, the resort will be decked with Christmas trees and lights and guests will be greeted on arrival with a mince pie and glass of mulled wine. There will also be reindeer visiting on Christmas Eve and fireworks and a traditional countdown to 2016 on the New Year break.

To read more on this story, please subscribe online

Old Oaks Pamper Pooches

Posted on June 26, 2015

Old Oaks Pamper Pooches

A range of dog-friendly initiatives have been implemented at Old Oaks Touring Park near Glastonbury.

It’s famous the world over for its music festival – but now Glastonbury is also hitting the right note for dog lovers, thanks to the Old Oaks Touring Park.

The award-winning camping and caravan site is putting pooches on a pedestal by providing them and their owners with a range of dog-friendly facilities.

A hot water doggy shower has installed at the park as well as a dedicated washing machine and tumble dryer for laundering pet bedding. A large securely-fenced exercise area has been sectioned off specifically for dog walking and the park has compiled a list of dog-friendly discovery walks, restaurants and local attractions. But, of course, not all establishments relish Rovers – so the Old Oaks has teamed up with a local dog walking business which will take the lead when owners wish to venture out alone.

James and Tara White are the husband-and-wife management team at the Old Oaks Touring Park which has been in the same family’s ownership for over 30 years.

New Park Guests Create a Buzz

Posted on June 26, 2015

New Park Guests Create a Buzz

Drovers Way Holiday Caravan Park took delivery of two hives for up to 100,000 honey bees this summer.

The family owners of a Tees Valley holiday park are welcoming thousands of extra guests this year – each of which will be accommodated and fed for free.

Drovers Way Holiday Caravan Park near Stockton-on-Tees is now a safe haven for honey bees which have been dropping dramatically in number over recent years. Park owners Chris and Helen Brown took delivery in April of two hives which will become the homes for up to 100,000 honey bees this summer.

Their thriving future at Drovers Way is almost a certainty thanks to the large number of high nectar-bearing blooms on the ten acres of grounds.

The park’s initiative follows news that it has been named as a 2015 winner of the prestigious David Bellamy Conservation Award for protecting the natural world.