Marina Work Is Underway

Posted on June 26, 2015

Marina Work Is Underway

Refurbishment work at Port Haverigg Marina Village will improve the quality of the park.

Wyldecrest Parks is breathing life into Port Haverigg Marina Village in Cumbria as part of a £1.2 million refurbishment programme at the park.

Soon to be a flagship holiday park for Wyldecrest, improvements will include new tarmac roads throughout the entire site, new drives for all plots, new plot bases and also a brand new play area.

A selection of premium plots will also be added to the park’s current offering of 197 caravans and lodges.

Wyldecrest Parks’ chairman Alfie Best comments: “I’m completely delighted with this improvement programme. We are working to increase our holidaymakers’ quality of life, but also moving forward, to offer even more people the chance of spending true quality time with friends and family at this stunning park which is full of potential.”

Park And Leisure Show Hots Up

Posted on May 27, 2015

The World of Park & Leisure Homes Show returns to Stoneleigh Park from 11th – 14th June, offering free entry and free parking.

Park And Leisure Show Hots Up

The UK’s biggest show for leisure lodges and residential park homes will return once again to the grounds of Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire in June.

The World of Park & Leisure Homes Show 2015 is your chance to view over 50 show homes including the launch of several new lodges and homes from the country’s leading manufacturers. Pathfinder Homes will be showcasing their Keepers Lodge, which launched earlier this year and Omar Park & Leisure Homes will be exhibiting a selection of their bestselling homes including the Heritage, the Colorado and the Accent on stand M11. There will also be homes and lodges to view from The Dream Lodge Group, Willerby Holiday Homes and Stately Albion to name a few.

In addition to the display of homes, a host of suppliers will be exhibiting related products and services including decking, coatings, hot tubs, insurance, refurbishment and garages. Be sure to make a beeline for the Quick Move Properties stand – the UK’s largest property part exchange company – where the team of experts will be on hand to offer advice on all aspects of part exchange.

If its spas and hot tubs that you’re interested in, stop by the Superior Spas stand to learn more about their full range of wellness products including spas, steam rooms, saunas and hot tubs. You may also benefit from speaking to the Spaeuro team who can advise on spa filters, parts and accessories.

Show organiser Jo Turner comments: “Our experience shows that 95 per cent of our visitors want to meet owners and operators face to face so they can truly discover what’s on offer.” She adds: “Following its tremendously successful introduction last year, the Trade Preview Day allows park owners, site managers and others working within the industry to come along and view the homes, chat with manufacturers, discover new models and discuss the latest issues and developments.”

The Trade Preview Day is Thursday 11th June and the show will be open to the public Friday 12th – Sunday 14th June. Entry and parking are free and each visitor receives a complimentary show guide.

Keep up to date with the latest show news by visiting www. parkhomeandleisure.co.uk

Big Ideas For Tree Tops Park

Posted on April 1, 2015

Big Ideas For Tree Tops Park

A long-established holiday park in North Wales has announced ambitious expansion plans to help meet an unprecedented demand for holiday caravans.

The family owners of Tree Tops Caravan Park in Flintshire are hoping to add a further 52 holiday home plots to the 168 it currently provides. Owners of the new holiday homes say the development will boost visitor spending in the area by more than half a million pounds annually.

Consent has already been given by the local town council and the plans will go before the district council later this month. Covering 15 acres, Tree Tops was started over 50 years ago by the parents of Maureen Walker who is today the park’s managing director, assisted in the business by her son Andy.

Maureen comments: “I think that the trend for taking holidays in the UK is growing each year and a holiday caravan gives people the option to take a break whenever they like with no need to plan ahead.

“The cost is far less than a holiday cottage and with no gardening or maintenance headaches to worry about – and, of course, holiday caravans don’t take away from local housing stock.”

Maureen continues: “We know from industry figures that our owners spend over one-and-a-half million pounds each year in the local economy and the new holiday homes will increase that by a third.

“It’s a win-win situation for everyone, not least the many small shops and other businesses which rely greatly on tourism for their survival and for sustaining the jobs they provide.”

Multi-Million ‘Deposit On Exchange’ Scheme

Posted on August 29, 2014

Multi-Million 'Deposit On Exchange' Scheme

Quick Move Properties marketing manager, Donna Houguez explains the new funding scheme is aimed at easing holiday park home sales.

£15 million has been allocated to provide a new ‘deposit on exchange, balance on completion’ fund to ease part exchange anxieties in the holiday park home sector.

The new scheme provides certainty to the park owner so they can order the home; gives confidence to the manufacturer, so they can build it and know their sale and purchase will go ahead as planned.

Following acceptance of an offer, the scheme offers:

• Quick exchange of contracts – in as little as seven days

• 10 per cent of the new park home value paid to vendor on exchange to enable them to secure it with a deposit

• Completion arranged to match date of delivery and siting of new park or leisure home to allow customer to make their final payment

• Up to two weeks free licence to occupy to ensure plenty of time for the move if the customer is buying a residential park home.

For more information contact Paul Harding at the Quick Move Properties team.

Don’t Slip Up

Posted on January 6, 2014

Don’t Slip Up

Be sure to choose an insurance company that structures cover around your needs.

Recent times have highlighted the need for robust insurance protection as climate change brings unprecedented challenges to the UK holiday park sector.
We have not yet witnessed a re-run of the disastrous 1987 storm but we are seeing a rise in the frequency of significant flooding and storms across the country. We have also seen the effects of earlier than anticipated and prolonged winter periods.
Holiday parks offer a unique blend of risks to the insurance market and choosing the right partner can be the difference between success and failure in the event of a catastrophe. Parks are, by their very nature, exposed to the elements, presenting challenges to the insurance market.
Lorica Insurance Brokers specialise in the leisure sector, providing individual solutions for the protection of property, income and legal liability to employees and visitors. Stefan Puttnam, executive director at Lorica explains: “When considering risks to a holiday park we tend to concentrate on the core facilities and what would happen were they to suffer loss but, just as important, is the interdependent relationship between this and the guest accommodation whether it be holiday homes, chalets, lodges or caravans. Losing one will impact on the viability of the other ultimately leading to lost revenue.”
He adds: “There are many complex and supposedly sophisticated ways to arrange cover but the simple fact is that nothing beats a straightforward conversation based around ‘what if’ scenarios. Every business is different, so when it comes to insurance, it’s not a case of one size fits all.”

MIND THE PITFALLS

Coast Insurance stress that insurance doesn’t just protect against small accidents, losses or theft, but it could save a huge financial bill in the event of something beyond control.

Stefan urges holiday park owners to insist upon your insurance advisor not accepting any policy warranties or conditions precedent to liability within the contracts of the insurance they arrange for you. These restrictions are particularly dangerous as they will require you to do, or not to do certain things. Failure to comply can result in policy cancellation or refusal to pay a claim despite the fact that the breach may bear no relevance to the claim itself. They should be avoided at all costs.
Basic level cover falls under the banner of Increased Costs of Working, which merely provides protection for additional expenditure reasonably and necessarily incurred after a loss. However, park owners should be made aware that there will be no cover to meet lost revenues.
Stefan says: “Like anything, there needs to be a balance between peace of mind and the level of premium you are able to expend.
“My advice is to firstly explore your unique exposures before considering the costs. Rash decisions based merely on premium costs could cripple your business. Understand the exposure, establish the cover needed, define the mitigating factors and let your broker sell it to the insurance market rather than the other way around.”
Insurance policies generally contain an overarching requirement for holiday park owners to disclose all material facts to an insurer. Failure to do so can ultimately render the cover void. Whilst it is unlikely to be able to negotiate removal, it is possible to water down the requirement so that in the event of an innocent non-disclosure of a material fact, it will not render the cover void and insurers will meet the claim subject to park owners paying an additional premium.
When taking out insurance, Stefan advises holiday park owners to consider less obvious scenarios – “What would happen if your guests were unable to gain access to their brand new holiday home due to an incident outside the park? What would happen if there were an outbreak of a notifiable human disease?
Ultimately you know your business best, align this to the specialist support of an insurance broker who understands the holiday park sector to put you at the front of the queue to not only survive a catastrophe but thrive where others may not.”

Company Contacts

Lorica Insurance Brokers
Tel. 0844 573 7691
www.loricainsurance.com

Coast Insurance
Tel. +44 (0)1892 784059
www.coastinsurance.co.uk

Wilby Ltd
Tel. +44 (0)1422 358525
www.wilbyltd.co.uk

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