Kent Park Unveils New Clubhouse
Local MP Gordon Henderson officially opened the new clubhouse at one of Kent’s most popular holiday parks, Golden Leas in Sheerness. The clubhouse is part of a recent £500,000 investment project at Golden Leas by Lovat Parks which acquired the business almost a year ago from its longstanding family owners. During his visit, Mr Henderson, who is MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, toured the park’s 22-acre grounds in the company of its general manager Jo Treadgold. Golden Leas has 350 privately-owned caravan holiday homes and lodges, and the new clubhouse will provide the focus for a raft of social activities and entertainment. It also includes a bar and cafe, a children’s club, and a shop which will focus on locally sourced food and drinks including many specialities produced in Kent. Sustainability, said Jo, was an important part of the park’s business philosophy, and the clubhouse has solar panels on its roof to generate heat for the building.
On the southern edge of the beautiful New Forest, Shorefield Holidays’ five-star Shorefield Country Park has direct access to miles of peaceful forest walks, as well as a series of walks and nature trails on its 100 acres of landscaped parkland. Following three years of careful planning, the Shorefield gardening team has created a new woodland nature trail in a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, which links up with the park’s existing woodland walk, as well as a network of paths owned by Milford Parish Council. Classed as ancient woodland, the area is carpeted with seasonal wildflowers and features a huge diversity of trees and wildlife. The new trail also gives guests and holiday home owners at the park better access to the surrounding area and nearby seafront. Head Gardener Ian Colverson says: “This is one of the biggest projects our gardening team has undertaken. The nature trail winds under a canopy of trees, and there is an abundance of wildlife and woodland flowers. Since we’ve completed the path, it’s become apparent just how many bluebells are emerging.” Shorefield Holidays is an award-winning family run business operating eight holiday parks across Hampshire and Dorset. It contributes more than £27m a year to the local economy and has won a number of conservation awards over the years. Formed just over 25 years ago, Park Holidays UK has its headquarters in Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, and in high season employs some 1,600 full and part-time staff. Prior to joining Park Holidays UK, Richard spent five years as divisional director of Enterprise Inns plc, Britain’s largest pub company with around 5,000 properties.
It’s hard to imagine a more perfect, unspoilt location to spend your retirement years than Pant Mawr Residential Park; nestled in a secluded, wooded valley above the pretty town of Harlech, amongst the stunning scenery and wildlife of the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. A select development of just 29 homes for the over 50s, retired and semi-retired, Pant Mawr started life in 1955 as a caravan park. Acquired by Neil Collis and his family in 2004, the park achieved a change of licence, two years later, to become a residential park. Since then, under Neil’s careful ownership and management, Pant Mawr has won numerous awards including Park of the Year in 2013. “My aim for Pant Mawr has always been to operate a park that I would be happy for my family to live on,” says Neil. “In fact I do! I live at the entrance to the park and actively run it myself, only employing one part time gardener and occasional construction contractors. Residents become friends here and we all feel so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place.” Pant Mawr is in the final stages of development and there is just one plot still to be sold. The residents of the current 28 homes enjoy truly spectacular views of the Rhinog mountain range, the golden sands of Tremadog Bay and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Harlech Castle. The prestigious Royal St David’s Golf Club is just minutes away. Neil has made every effort to ensure that the park and its homes harmonise with the exceptional surroundings. Traditional dry-stone walls constructed by local craftsmen add character and, the landscaping complements the natural beauty of the Park’s woodland setting. “Pant Mawr means ‘Great Hollow’ in English,” explains Neil, “but the park is much more peaceful than its name might suggest. Residents can relax in a very private and secure location, surrounded by mature trees and fields, along with all kinds of wildlife. Living in Pant Mawr really does represent a special opportunity to live life to the full in a unique place.” However, running a park, regardless of its enviable location, still brings its challenges. “In 2014, the Welsh Government introduced its own Mobile Homes Act, which is quite different from the one in England,” says Neil. “Some of the legislation is proving particularly challenging to park operators and certain parts are subject to a current judicial review in the High Court.”
The main differences between the park legislation in England and Wales is that in Wales, the park fee can only increase by the much lower rate of CPI, instead of RPI in England. A manager or owner of a Welsh park has to pass a fi t and proper person test and park licenses have to be renewed every five years, which means much closer monitoring by the Local Authority that issues the license. This is great news for residents and undoubtedly helps to protect them from unscrupulous park owners but such rigorous rules can cause extra administrative headaches for upstanding members of the industry. Following a public consultation on the park homes commission rate, currently 10%, the Welsh Government recommended a phased reduction in the rate and has commissioned further financial analysis to determine how to action this change. The result is likely to mean higher park fees. With just one plot on the site remaining, any changes are unlikely to impact too forcefully on Pant Mawr. The buyer of the final plot is able to design their own home. All of the homes on the park are different models from Omar, ranging in size from 40 x 20 to 45 x 20 feet. Each home benefits from mains water and drainage, LPG central heating, an individual block-paved driveway and turfed garden with shed, as well as telephone and satellite TV connection. “We try to take care of everything for our residents so their move here is as relaxed as possible,” says Neil. “Attention to detail makes all the difference in providing them with comfort and peace of mind.”
Neil and the residents of Pant Mawr also like to give back to the wider community. The park enjoys close links with the small town of Harlech and its many amenities and independent shops, just a few minutes walk away. The local swimming pool is community-owned and receives great financial support, as well as volunteer staff, from Pant Mawr. The Welsh Air Ambulance is also well supported by the park and its residents. With Pant Mawr almost complete, Neil is content to spend his days looking after the residents and ensuring their continued enjoyment of the exceptional surroundings. “There are no plans at the moment to expand the park or invest elsewhere,” says Neil. “Pant Mawr is a little slice of heaven in North Wales… I can’t imagine ever wanting to be anywhere else.”
The marmite of the holiday industry, holiday letters either love hot tubs or they loathe them. A necessary evil, the plus side of hot tubs is that they will increase ‘letability’ offering the opportunity to put premium prices on accommodation offered with a spa. In fact, seven out of ten bookers are looking for a hot tub with their holiday let, while accommodation promoted as being supplied with a hot tub ,will generally sustain increased rates of around 25% -30%. On the down side, hot tubs are high maintenance on changeover days; a pain to heat up, with inevitable customer complaints. The in-coming visitors are chomping at the bit to take the plunge and social media the ‘in the tub’ photographs to show all their friends how they are living the dream. As hard as you try, damage and tampering by clients, especially on covers and controls, however well meaning, can be costly in terms of ongoing maintenance. There are also huge health and safety responsibilities on regular water changes, safe water balance and generally demonstrating your duty of care. A relatively new set of guidance, namely HSG282, has split opinion with many specialist suppliers hot-footing it to play the compliance card. “It is recognised that hot tubs and spa pools can be a source of diseases caused by infectious agents including the organism that causes Legionnaires’ disease, primarily Legionella pneumpohila,” advises industry expert and PPG national sales manager, Jimmy Lamb. “There have been a number of outbreaks linked to hot tubs and spa pools in leisure centres, hotels, holiday homes, on cruise ships and on display,” he warns. There was limited information applicable to hot tubs/spas located in holiday lets before the HSG282 was produced. HSG stands for Health and Safety Guidance. One of the opening paragraphs in HSG282 reads: This guidance is issued by the Health and Safety Executive. Following the guidance is not compulsory, unless specifically stated, and you are free to take other action. But, if you do follow the guidance you will normally be doing enough to comply with the law. In the event of an incident, Health and Safety inspectors seek to secure compliance with the law and may refer to this guidance. Jimmy again: “I have noticed a number of hot tub supplier and manufacturers marketing their hot tubs to the holiday park/let market as ‘HSG282 Compliant’. “The use of the word compliant in my opinion could suggest that HSG282 is law but it is not legislation – it is guidance.” Suppliers, like Darlly Europe, the inventors of the Slipstream in-linefiltration system, believe the guidance is helpful to the holiday let sector. “Though we can understand why some owners and operators would view it as being a sales tool, given that, before its introduction, there was no specific regulatory framework covering the use of domestic type hot tubs in holiday let environments,” says Darlly 's Gil Gingell. “So, to 
go from a situation where there was perceived to be no restrictions to where there has to be a level of compliance will be seen by some to be bureaucratic and imposing unnecessary costs by those of that mind-set. “In the absence of any specific guidance, it was only a matter of time before a serious public health incident occurred which could have potentially devastating repercussions on the industry and public perception of it, as well as, of course, the unfortunate people affected, Gil Gingell." “It therefore benefits owners and operators, who will have the peace of mind, that if they follow the guidance - and are seen to be following it - they won't have any issues which could potentially harm their customers. Leading hot tub supplier Rotospa agrees: “The new guidance allows holiday parks to make an informed decision when choosing the right spa for their park, in order to ensure the product is compliant and fi t for purpose, whilst also meeting their own needs,” says Rotospa’s Charlotte Hotchin. “The document also puts emphasis on the supplier of the product to ensure a compliant and fi t for purpose product is supplied, to ultimately ensure the safety of its users. “When the spas are in this particular context, there is also an obligation for the supplier of the spas to provide training and instructions to its customers to ensure the customer is knowledgeable on the correct use of spas,” says Charlotte who adds: “Both of our holiday park specific spas are fi t for purpose and fully HSG282 compliant.” One of the country’s leading hot tub retailers, Gareth Jones of UK Leisure Living believes HSG282 is a positive move. “It is good we have some standards to work to and something to ensure a reasonable quality tub with a reasonable spec is being fitted in the holiday sector,” says Gareth.
and again provides confusion for owners.” Gareth says he and his UK Leisure Living team try to help their holiday let clients navigate through the maze of options and ensure, as much as reasonable practicable, safe hot tub ownership. “We have a variety of spas that we sell into the holiday market. All spas will come with an ozone, inline chemical feeder as well as some form of way of locking the control panel off. “We tick as many as we can, some clients want more depending on their site regulations. We fully communicate with the client the specifi cation and ensure they are compliant in spec and in running the spa afterwards.”Gareth warns: “Extra bookings don’t always equal extra profi t, as the operator needs to consider the management of the tub and factor this into the pay back. “However we feel a £5-6k hot tub, should pay for its self within one to three years with a good quality booking agent. “Some people charge an extra £50-£100 a booking for having the hot tub and then factor in a 25% up lift in bookings, and that gives you a great payback,” he estimates. If you speak to any online booking agent they will usually place a hot-tub in the top three options search or ticked. But rushing into a purchase, to tick the hot tub box, could be a mistake if operators do not follow the latest advice. Dan Johnson of the American brand, Marquis Spas, markets a fully compliant range of hot tubs for the holiday let market. Dan reveals: “Many of the smaller holiday park operators, I have spoken to, left me feeling they had no idea of the HSG282 guidance but felt that filling out a risk assessment exempted them somehow? “I think the big operators are paying attention, as they understand the power of the HSE and thus the importance of following guidelines – it is built into their management infrastructure,” Dan continues. “While some dealers have been specifying or retro-fi tting continuous feeders to outdated models, the bather capacity and water turn-over rates, will still make many hot tubs fall foul of HSG282,” explains Dan who calls on personal experiences. “I recently booked an October break for my family online. I was offered an inflatable hot tub more than once – how does that get anywhere near being compliant – the operator didn’t know, nor care.”
As an industry standard, using conventional methods, a holiday hot tub, with a normal 3kw heater, will heat water on changeover at one degree an hour, that is up to 24 hours to get up to optimum temperatures. So take note of a ground-breaking new state-of-the-art product, called the Climacube that will heat a hot tub at seven to eight degrees per hour. The Climacube will heat hot tubs in around 4-5 hours from cold with a consumption of only 1KW per/hour with a COP of over 3.5 in minus temperatures. If I then told you the Climacube guarantees to cut energy costs by 70 to 80 percent and can be used to provide hot water and power to your holiday lodges themselves….yes, keep calm and form an orderly queue. RETRO-FITS Available as a stand-alone unit, the ClimaCube can be retro-fitted to all makes of hot tubs. It is also available as a pre-installed feature in a bespoke range of hot tubs by ClimaCube’s creator, Park Leisure Solutions. Launched at the start of the 2018 season; good news travels fast. Big names like Parkdean, Shorefield and Hoburne Holidays have been the first to snap up the new technology that already features on over 70 hot tubs at holiday parks in Poole, Norwich and Skegness.
The spa cover you have always wanted and the last you will ever need, the Smartop, by Leisure Concepts, combines strength and good looks as the first choice for the holiday let sector. An array of colours and finishes to choose from, the Smartop will not develop mildew, mould or odour over time. Its durable and rugged materials handle outdoor elements with ease yet is feather-light to manoeuvre. Custom-designs are available on large orders – so you can have your hot tub cover, company
not only has great accommodation and a wonderful location, one of the things that keeps guests coming back are the facilities. The Oasis Fun Pools are one of the main attractions of staying on the park. The indoor pool has a river rapid ride to take your breath away, water cannon and geyser for a real soaking, then get drenched under the giant tap, fountains and waterfalls too.
Hendra chooses a charity each year to raise money for, and guests kindly donating an optional 50p on each booking. This is small change but makes such huge difference and last year, together with collecting tine on the park, raffles and other fund raising events Hendra raised a record-breaking £13,398 for Macmillan Cancer Support. This year the chosen charity is the Alzheimer’s society, which is the UK's leading dementia support and research charity. Another way Hendra’s guests help to make their stay green and sustainable is by ‘freecycling’ a facility provided on the park so they can leave behind unwanted holiday items like beach toys, windbreaks and BBQs at the end of their break for other guests to enjoy. The park actively encourages guest feedback, via surveys, reviews and social media, which is always valued and responded to. It’s vital to continue to make Hendra the holiday destination for future generations too, so it’s important to keep improving, developing and maintaining the Park, whilst being sustainable. It is a challenge, but one that’s relished by owners and staff.
Caravan, lodge and park owners continue to go paperless – helping their insurance provider, Leisuredays, to raise more and more money for national charity, Heart Research UK. As part of Leisuredays’ commitment to helping hearts, the company donates £1 to Heart Research UK every time a customer opts for an emailed policy rather than receiving their documents through the post. Throughout 2018, Leisuredays’ Paperless Policies campaign raised a hearty £14,292. Leisuredays’ Paperless Policies initiative has raised a massive £91,970 in the last nine years. Associate Director Laura Wilby presented Heart Research UK with a cheque during the Halifax-based company’s Healthy Heart day. As a big thank you, the charity delivered heart and cholesterol checks, plus lifestyle advice to staff, who celebrated with a health fair, eating healthy snacks and sharing recipes and exercise ideas.
If you are searching for the latest design ideas as part of your continuous accommodation upgrades, or a choice of holiday park services, the World of Park and Leisure Homes has a solution for you. The show plays host to multiple park home providers, aiming to give owners and operators a unique opportunity to spend quality time with the manufacturers, viewing new models and other homes on display and considering new concepts and designs. But accommodation is only part of the event appeal. There are a plethora of suppliers of services and products from finance and security to insurance and electrics, all keen to meet with existing and potential new customers. Cutting out the travel for many south of England operators, the South of England Showground, at Ardingley, was the location for the April event; the first of two shows. Highlights included a floating mobile home by The Floating Lodges Company and a Gypsy Caravan by Erpingham Lodges. With free parking and entry to the event, the next World of Park and Leisure Homes Show will take place next month at the Stoneleigh showground. The trade-only day is Thursday June 6th while the public will also have access from June 7th to 9th.
