New Center Parcs Village Plans Underway

Posted on January 10, 2016

Center Parcs has submitted a planning application for a new holiday Village in Ireland.

New Center Parcs Village Plans Underway

Less than two years after the hugely successful opening of its fifth Village, Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire, Center Parcs has submitted a formal planning application for a new Village in Ireland. The company plans to develop a 395 acre site in Newcastle Wood, County Longford, into what will be their sixth Village and first venture outside of the UK. The development, named ‘Center Parcs Longford Forest’, will be ideally positioned in the heart of Ireland, with excellent transport links for families from both north and south of the border. The planning application outlines the transformative impact that the project could have on both County Longford and the national economy, including adding €1 billion to Ireland’s GDP over a 20 year period and creating approximately 750 jobs during construction and a further 1,000 permanent roles once operational. Subject to receiving satisfactory planning permission, Center Parcs Longford Forest could open to guests in 2019. The new site will incorporate 470 lodges and 30 apartments nestled into the natural surroundings, more than 100 indoor and outdoor family activities, an Aqua Sana Spa, a range of restaurants, shops and cafés and the iconic Subtropical Swimming Paradise.

Low Cost Short Breaks For British Troops

Posted on January 6, 2016

Low Cost Short Breaks For British Troops

Trustees for the Give Us Time charity include Lady Kitty Spencer, pictured
here with two British service personnel.

A national charity is appealing to holiday park owners to help British troops by donating holiday accommodation during the low season.
Give Us Time helps British military personnel and their families by providing holidays for those in need of rest and rehabilitation.
The charity connects service families with hotels, resorts, holiday cottage owners and timeshare properties that, during low seasons, have empty rooms or accommodation to fill.
A spokesperson for the charity explains: “Family is the support system around a soldier’s rehabilitation, however, re-adjusting to family life while dealing with the triumphs and traumas of an operational tour can be extremely difficult, even more so with physical or psychological damage.
“The scheme is a low cost way of caring for military personnel by nurturing this essential family time with week-long holidays on neutral territory, away from the barracks and comrades, just pure family bonding. The effect this can have on the family cohesion and marriage on these families has been invaluable.”
Give Us Time has over 1,000 soldiers registered to its database, who are in need of rest, rehabilitation and reconnection with their families.
The charity currently already works with several holiday companies, such as Center Parcs in the UK, which donate low-season holidays to the British troops.
For more information, visit www.giveustime.org.uk

Park Owner Awarded Living Wage Accolade

Posted on January 6, 2016

Park Owner Awarded Living Wage Acolade

Park owner Patrick Langmaid, has been chosen as the winner of the Living Wage Leadership Award 2015 for the South West region.

Keen campaigner for the living wage, Patrick Langmaid, has been chosen as the winner of the Living Wage Leadership Award 2015 for the South West region.
The Cornish businessman was the Living Wage Foundation SW overall champion and in addition, Patrick’s Mother Ivey’s Bay Holiday Park in Padstow was also declared the winner of the Living Wage Employer Champion Award in the South West.
Award judges highlighted the tireless campaigning for the living wage which Patrick has carried out both within and without the tourism industry, and the fine example set by his business.
Patrick has already argued the case for the living wage on television and in the Press, and he says he now intends to use the publicity from his two awards to help spread awareness even more widely: “For many businesses, including mine, the living wage does represent an additional cost, but I believe there are also tangible savings to be made from managing a happy workforce.
“I know from our experience that a firm’s long-term interests are often best served by looking beyond the immediate impact of salaries on the balance sheet.
“Productivity, loyalty and staff retention are just two important factors which can translate into an overall cost benefit for the business,” he added.

North East Grows As Leisure Destination

Posted on December 15, 2015

North East Grows As Leisure Destination

This year is likely to be a record-breaking year for people taking holidays in North East England. Pic: VisitEngland/Rod Edwards.

Caravan and camping parks in Northumbria say it is likely to be a record-breaking year for people taking holidays in North East England. Many of the 53 park businesses in the region – representing over 4,000 pitches in total – report bookings at their highest level for at least a decade. They say official figures showing that Northumbria parks currently generate around £27 million of visitor spending every year may now have to be revised upwards. Matthew Muckle of Coquetdale Holiday Park who is Northumbria branch secretary of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association, said that the revenue created by NE parks provides a life-line for many other enterprises in the region. “Virtually every penny of the £27 million which our parks generate benefits Northumbrian tourism dependent businesses,” he said. “Many of our members are now quietly optimistic that this year will see a rise in the present figure, not least because of the growing appeal of Northumbria for family holidays,” he added.

Peak Season Booking Boom

Posted on December 15, 2015

Peak Season Booking Boom

Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks in Devon enjoyed bumper peak season bookings for 2015.

Despite a wet August, the UK’s holiday park sector enjoyed a bumper peak season of bookings this year. The summer was both cooler and wetter than the two previous summers, with temperatures below average and heavy rain at times. But it seems the weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the country’s holidaymakers. In September, Hoburne Holiday Parks revealed a 16 per cent increase in the value of bookings compared to the same period last year, meanwhile Hoseasons celebrated its fifth record summer in a row. Hoseasons managing director, Simon Altham commented: “I don’t think anyone would seriously claim it was a good summer when it came to the weather, but that clearly didn’t affect bookings. “People are more interested in the quality of the accommodation, what’s on offer nearby and having time to catch up with those that matter most to them, rather than the weather. They increasingly want experience-led breaks rather than weather-led ones, so while it’s always nice if the sun is shining, it certainly doesn’t matter if it isn’t.” In Devon, Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks saw bookings increase by six per cent compared to 2014 during the summer season.The company had a 99.3 per cent occupancy level throughout the school holiday period, with many holidays booked at short notice. Forward bookings for 2016 are currently running at 19 per cent up on the same time last year. Sales and marketing director, Kevin Darvill said: “2015 has been a superb year for Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks. We enjoyed record sales and excellent customer satisfaction levels and we look forward to another bumper year in 2016,” he added.

Twin Park Celebrations

Posted on December 15, 2015

Twin Park Celebrations

Teams from Ladram Bay Holiday Park and sister park Castle Brake celebrate their success

Two award-winning holiday parks owned by the same Devon family have been awarded the highest accolade achievable in the tourism industry. Ladram Bay Holiday Park and sister park Castle Brake have both been awarded five gold stars each through the VisitEngland National Quality Assessment Scheme. Zoe House, director at Ladram Bay Holiday Park, commented: “We are thrilled that we have achieved this top award for not one but both of our parks. “I am pleased that the teams at both sites have been recognised for all the hard work they put in to ensure our guests have a first class experience.” The parks were classed as ‘excellent’ by the VisitEngland inspection teams, who assessed them on the quality of their facilities, physical and personal comfort, service and hospitality, management and attention to detail. Victoria Hatfield, chair of VisitDevon, said: “Very few holiday parks achieve the highest accolade of five stars so to receive 10 between Ladram Bay and Castle Brake holiday parks is a real achievement. “

Balloons Cross Channel

Posted on December 15, 2015

Balloons Cross Channel

Promotional balloons from a holiday park in Clacton

At the end of each day, staff at Valley Farm Holiday Park in Clacton-on-Sea release the balloons that decorate the park’s entrance to the skies. Just recently, the park has started to include special promotional offers inside some of the balloons that can then be claimed by the recipient. However, they didn’t expect the first recipient to be over 100 miles away across the English Channel. The Wassmuth-Gumbel family from Mannheim in Germany were enjoying a summer holiday in the village of Vrouwenpolder on the south-west Netherlands coast when their sevenyear old daughter, Carla discovered the balloons. Denise Woods, caravan sales manager remarked: “For the last few years, we’ve always let the balloons fly away rather than bursting them but one of our new sales advisers recently came up with the idea of placing messages inside them. So keep your eyes peeled for them and you could receive your very own special offer or prize.”

Fantasy Pod Is A Labour Of Love

Posted on December 15, 2015

Fantasy Pod Is A Labour Of Love

The Hobbit house at Townsend Touring Park is proving a magical place to stay.

An unusual new glamping pod on a Herefordshire holiday park has attracted bookings from JRR Tolkien fans and Hobbit buffs this summer. The Lord of the Rings-style pod on Townsend Touring Park near Leominster may look like a magical medieval retreat but its facilities are firmly rooted in modern times. Built beneath a grass-covered mound, the five-berth dwelling boasts a fully equipped kitchen, heating, television, bathroom and a host of other mod-cons. Inspiration for this new take on glamping came from the park’s owners, Geoff and Su Smith, who already offer more conventional pod accommodation at Townsend. “Some guests tell us that there is an almost magical quality to this area, so it seemed entirely fitting to build a pod which had an air of fantasy about it,” said Su. “It’s been a labour of love for us, and we’re delighted with the results – as are our guests who say the quality we’ve achieved is a perfect match for the surroundings.” Such has been the success of the pod – which is built off-site to a modular and scalable design – that two more units are now in production for installation early next year.

Complete Sales Before Christmas

Posted on December 9, 2015

Complete Sales Before Christmas

Quick Move Properties, the UK’s leading independent part exchange company, is helping residential and leisure park operators to complete sales and get customers on-site before Christmas with its new Stock Support service. The service, which is available to all park operators and is free of charge to any parks using Quick Move Properties’ part exchange service, offers a range of new units from manufacturers such as Prestige, Homeseeker, Omar, Wessex, Tingdene and Pathfinder. The units are ready to be sited throughout the year, without the lengthy lead time usually associated with ordering a park or leisure home. Quick Move Properties’ sales director, Patrick Chambers, explains: “With our new Stock Support service there is no need for your sales to be held up by lengthy unit order lead times. We have units ready to be sited on your park before Christmas, which means you can get your sales completed before the end of the year. “Units can be tailored to customers’ individual requirements and specifications with 12 weeks’ notice or we also have a select number of homes available for immediate delivery to site, all with showroom standard furnishing packs.”

Quick Move Properties
Tel. 01793 840907
www.quickmoveproperties.com

Park Group Growth

Posted on December 9, 2015

Park Group Growth

Bridge Leisure recently purchased Seaview Holiday Village in Cornwall.

Specialist holiday park group Bridge Leisure Parks has expanded its portfolio with the purchase of a fifth holiday park. The acquisition of Seaview Holiday Village in Polperro, Cornwall, means that Milton-Keynes based Bridge Leisure Parks now owns two holiday parks in Cornwall, along with properties on the Yorkshire coast and Scotland. Andrew Howe, chief executive of Bridge Leisure commented: “Seaview is a truly lovely holiday village with a superb south coast setting. We are looking to mirror the success of our first holiday park in Cornwall - Trevella Park - and we predict impressive results at our newest destination. “This is the second holiday village we have bought in 2015, following a management buyout and new investment at the start of this year.” He adds: “Our plan is to buy more parks and continue to grow, and we welcome contact from park owners interested in selling their business.”

Bridge Leisure
Tel. 01908 686 600
www.bridgeleisure.com

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