Residential Parks

HOLIDAY PARKS CALL FOR REFORMS IN UPCOMING BUDGET

Posted on November 3, 2024

The British Holiday and Home Parks Association (BH&HPA) has outlined a series of reforms it hopes the Government will address in the autumn budget, set for 30 October. Representing around 3,000 parks across the UK, BH&HPA’s proposals focus on boosting regional economies, supporting jobs, energy sustainability, and improving low-cost housing options.

In its submission to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, BH&HPA highlights four key areas where reforms could be made without financial loss to the Government, aiming for significant national benefits. Debbie Walker, BH&HPA’s Director General, emphasised the potential for growth through planning reforms that would allow holiday parks to expand and invest, while residential parks could offer more affordable housing for retirees, freeing up larger family homes.

The association is also calling for VAT reductions to help UK parks remain competitive with international tourism markets, making domestic holidays more affordable amid rising living costs. BH&HPA’s energy reforms propose expanding grid capacity to support the use of sustainable technologies, such as electric vehicle charging points and heat pumps.

Additionally, they urge the Government to address skills shortages in rural and coastal areas by providing long-term training and employment opportunities. With UK holiday parks and campsites contributing £7.2bn to the economy and supporting over 226,700 jobs, BH&HPA hopes the upcoming budget will pave the way for further growth.

Association members will have a chance to digest the implications of the budget on 4 November (12 noon – 1pm) during a webinar arranged by BH&HPA with tax advisers RSM.

British Holiday and Home Parks Association
www.bhhpa.org.uk

FAMILY VALUES

Posted on May 16, 2024

The Hoburne Group was established in 1912 in Dorset when ‘Hubborn Farm’ was acquired at auction by its tenant farmer John Burry. Embracing his new life as a landowner, Mr Burry soon added nearby Naish Farm to his budding property empire and, amidst the growing interest in caravanning, the seeds of the Hoburne Group were sown.

Today, the Hoburne Group is one of the south’s largest and most successful tourism companies and is still, crucially, family-owned and operated, now by the fifth generation of the Burry family. “Without question, what makes our business unique is our family values,” explains Jim Forward, Chief Executive of the Hoburne Group.

“Like most family businesses, these start with integrity, a factor which is of the utmost importance to the board of directors; it is vital that as a company, we behave in a way that is genuine and provides customers with genuine products, genuine services, professionalism, efficiency, and value for money.”

FAMILY ACTIVITIES ARE KEY within the family- run Hoburne Group. Pictured, Adventure Golf.

The Hoburne Group encompasses eight holiday parks in the south and southwest of England, offering modern holiday accommodation and holiday home ownership with accompanying leisure, entertainment, and dining facilities. These are Hoburne Park in Dorset; Hoburne Naish and Hoburne Bashley in Hampshire; Hoburne Devon Bay in South Devon; Hoburne Cotswolds in Gloucestershire; Hoburne Blue Anchor in Somerset; and Hoburne St Mabyn and Hoburne Doublebois in Cornwall.

Holiday home ownership accounts for 70% of Hoburne’s business and the company caters to 2,500 holiday home owners. The remaining 30% is hire fleet for holidays. Hoburne also owns and operates two residential parks: Hoburne Naish in Hampshire has a small residential offering, and there is one solely residential park located in Swanage, Dorset.

The group’s largest park, Hoburne Naish, has been attracting caravanners in their droves since John Burry purchased Naish Farm in 1920. Now, Hoburne Naish welcomes over 12,000 holidaymakers each year and has in excess of 1000 units. Covering 110 acres, the park is superbly positioned on the clifftop, with direct beach access and incredible panoramic sea views to the Isle of Wight, Christchurch Harbour and Mudeford Quay.

THE NEWLY OPENED INDOOR play zone is part of a significant investment in Hoburne Cotswold.

HEAVENLY SLICE
Two new developments offer the chance for holidaymakers to purchase their own slice of heaven in this iconic Great British holiday spot. Sunset Cliffs and Chewton Bunny feature a choice of the latest holiday homes from top manufacturers including the new Omar Seafronter Super Lodge, designed specifically with coastal settings in mind.

2024 is a busy year for the Hoburne Group, as they launch a new sister park, Hoburne Cotswold Reach situated next to established Hoburne Cotswold in the middle of the Cotswold Water Park. “Hoburne Cotswold Reach has been designed for those wanting a peaceful hideaway in which to relax and escape,” explains Jim Forward.

“This quiet, exclusive park still allows guests to enjoy the main park facilities at Hoburne Cotswold, giving them truly the best of both worlds.” £4.7m is being invested in the park facilities at Hoburne Cotswold to support the expansion which will bring an additional 84 holiday homes to the business.

Several major developments are underway to improve the overall functionality and appeal of the park’s leisure facilities. “Phase one of the substantial upgrade is already complete with the opening of our exciting brand-new indoor play zone just before Easter,” says Greg Nolan, General Manager for Hoburne Cotswold.

“This new area provides a dedicated play space for families with young children. Working with the industry’s leading play equipment suppliers, we have designed an inspiring forest-themed play area with incredible features for our younger guests.” The redesigned indoor pool area including changing rooms, sauna and steam room is scheduled to re-open in early Summer. The work on the main pool will see the addition of children’s water play equipment to suit a range of ages.

INDOOR POOL
With a mission statement that emphasises the importance of providing “an outstanding customer experience”, delivering “exacting standards” and “continual investment”, it’s not surprising that the Cotswolds development is just one of many being masterminded by the team at the Hoburne Group headquarters in Christchurch, Dorset.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to continually enhance the customer experience, we also have an exciting refurbishment taking place at Hoburne Devon Bay this year,” explains Jim Forward. “We’re upgrading key elements within the South Devon park’s main venue to ensure they meet the highest standards of comfort and functionality, whilst carrying out a comprehensive interior and exterior makeover, incorporating contemporary design elements that complement the park’s coastal surroundings.

Through this investment, we will undoubtedly enhance our operations, expand our capabilities, and overall improve our offering for our guests by creating an even more enjoyable and fulfilling experience.” The rise of low-cost package holidays abroad might have cast a temporary shadow over homegrown holidays, but more recent developments have led to the introduction of a whole new customer base.

“The pandemic enabled us to promote our beautiful locations, plus the ease of travelling to our sites versus the many issues and delays which can be experienced with airline travel,” says Jim. “We welcomed a new audience, many of whom had never been to a UK holiday park before. With our extensive and continual programme of investment in park accommodation and facilities, Hoburne’s holiday guests and owners enjoy the very best of what holiday caravan and lodge accommodation has to offer.”

LUXURY LODGE WITH HOT TUB at Cornwall’s Hoburne St Mabyn.

ECO INVESTMENT
As part of this continual investment, the Hoburne Group is at the forefront of embracing initiatives that save energy and improve sustainability. In 2022, they became members of the Green Tourism programme, which promotes greener ways for businesses and organisations to operate.

In the last two years, Hoburne has rolled out solar technology including the installation of 2,231 solar panels; replaced all street lighting with LED lightbulbs; replaced all petrol grounds tools with battery-powered equipment; installed 24 EV vehicle chargers; introduced new food waste bins and the use of 100% recycled paper for welcome packs; and joined the David Bellamy Blooming Marvellous Pledge For Nature, planting new trees and wildflower meadows, as well as building bug hotels and bird boxes to create new wildlife habitats across their parks.

Over the years, the Hoburne Group’s commitment to innovation and excellence in service and standards has resulted in many awards. Most recently, they have been awarded Feefo’s Gold Trusted Service Award in recognition of online reviews from holidaymakers recognising their commitment to providing exceptional customer service.

They have also achieved an industry first with a landmark accreditation for the holiday park sector after passing the stringent requirements of the new Safe to Trade® Hospitality and Retail Industry Food Safety and Hygiene Standard, to become ‘Approved’ on the Safe to Trade® Register.

“We are delighted to have become the first holiday park operator to be awarded the much-coveted approved status,” explains Jim. “Safe to Trade® is a clear, comprehensive, assured standard. It’s the first voluntary, third-party assurance programme for the hospitality sector, designed to protect and care for the public. Something that is at the very heart of everything that we, at Hoburne, strive to do.”

Hoburne Group
Tel. 01425 282358
www.hoburnegroup.com

£5M BOOST FOR IT SPECIALIST

Posted on March 2, 2024

£5M BOOST FOR IT SPECIALIST

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS SPECIALISTS, Elite Dynamics founded in 2015 by Jamaine Campbell, pictured, Nicola Campbell and Jack Vernon.

Elite Dynamics, a leading provider of software solutions to the holiday park and marina industry, has announced a £5 million investment from BGF – one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland. BGF’s investment will support the continued development of Elite Dynamics’ proprietary software, which is built on the Microsoft Dynamics platform, as well as plans to invest in sales and marketing.

In the last three years, the business has grown revenues at more than 40% per annum, with plans to triple in size and double its headcount by 2026. Founded in 2015 by Jamaine Campbell, Nicola Campbell and Jack Vernon, the North West-based business has developed a range of digital transformation solutions specifically designed for holiday parks, marinas, as well as holiday home manufacturers and dealers.

These help to improve business functions from maintenance, memberships and marketing, to reservations, sales and finance. The range is currently used in more than 350 parks, both in the UK and internationally. Commenting on the deal, Jamaine Campbell, CEO and co-founder of Elite Dynamics, said: “In the last eight years, we have built a highly successful, and profitable business through a balanced blend of strong industry experience and technical know-how.

“Our aim is to become the dominant provider of technology solutions to holiday and residential parks, manufacturers and marinas, expanding our reach both domestically and overseas. In order to achieve our growth ambitions, we needed an investment partner that recognised the potential of our business, as well as that of the sector, and was willing to take a long- term approach in helping us to seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

In BGF we have found that investment partner.” The deal was led by Harry Jones and Courtney Walker, investors in BGF’s North-West team. As part of the investment, Martin Moran has been appointed to the board as non-executive chair through BGF’s Talent Network – one of the largest groups of board-level non-executives in the UK and Ireland. Martin was a founder of Salesforce.com in EMEA and has more than 20 years’ experience in SaaS and cloud computing.

Harry Jones said: “Elite Dynamics has established itself as an innovative and respected player in the parks and marina industry – created to disrupt a market saturated by archaic technology and systems. By combining the team’s intimate knowledge of how the market works, with technical expertise, Elite Dynamics is helping park operators to simplify processes, while helping to boost their bottom line.

It’s an extremely attractive proposition.” He added: “BGF has considerable experience in the holiday parks sector through our investment in Coppergreen Leisure Resorts, which we successfully exited in 2021, as well as supporting dynamic and fast-growth technology companies looking to transform markets through business improvement processes. As such, we’re delighted to be joining the team, as they embark on the next stage of their growth journey.”

Welcome Home

Posted on May 31, 2016

Welcome Home

Welcome Home image 1

All new homes on the Turners Parks Group sites are sold with a fully landscaped plot, shed and the majority also have block paved or tarmac driveway.

With 38 residential parks in attractive locations across the country, Turners Parks Group is one of the largest park home providers in the UK.

Founded in 2009, the Group has grown steadily and now owns parks from North Yorkshire to the Cornish Coast with a high concentration of 18 parks in the Heart of England in Cheltenham and the Cotswolds. The latest addition is Bittaford Word in Ivybridge, which has given the group a much needed presence in Devon.

“Our parks are for either the over 45’s or over 50’s age group depending on location. We try to appeal to a range of tastes and budgets by working with five of the main park home manufacturers and offering a variety of park home styles,” explains Rebecca Peachey of Turners Parks Group.

Fully Landscaped

“Where possible we also offer a mix of single and twin units as we appreciate a single person looking to move to our parks may want a smaller home.”

Across its 38 parks, Turners has 2,500 plots housing approximately 3,700 residents. All new homes on the Turners Parks Group sites are sold with a fully landscaped plot, shed, and the majority also have a block paved or tarmac driveway. Many of the homes are fully furnished down to the bed linen which means the residents can literally move straight in. Including part time on-site wardens who maintain the communal areas on the parks, Turners has 44 employees.

Turners Parks Group management team, accounts, and customer services departments are located in Newmarket, Suffolk, with regional area managers based around the UK.

Turners Parks Group

The management team, accounts, and customer services departments are located in Newmarket, Suffolk, with regional area managers based around the UK who are responsible for looking after each park. A dedicated aftersales coordinator forms the important link between resident and manufacturer and is also part of the package offered to all new residents.

Commenting on the challenges that are currently facing the park home industry, Rebecca reveals that unscrupulous park operators are the biggest issue: “The tighter regulations and powers given to Local Authorities are helping to weed out those that do not operate in the interests of their residents but sadly on occasions the press attention park homes receive due to a minority of operators can be detrimental to the industry.”

Flagship Park

Takeley Park near to Stansted Airport is Turners Parks Group’s flagship park. The parks warm and welcoming atmosphere is partly due to the very active Resident’s Association and the number of events they coordinate alongside the park manager Rebecca explains: “Takeley Park has recently been awarded Bronze David Bellamy Conservation Award due to the environmental work we have been trialling on the park – for example the introduction of bat boxes, bee hotels, wild flower planting and recycling schemes. We are aiming for a Silver award in 2016!”Welcome Home image 2

The next phase of development at Takeley Park is currently underway with a small cul-de-sac of eight plots. The group is also working on plans for Twinbrook Park in Falmouth - a former holiday park - which will see the whole park developed for residential homes, with work likely to start in the summer.
Turners will also be focussing heavily on improved customer service following a programme of research conducted last year. The group will aim to offer its residents a greater level of service when it comes to reporting any issues they may find in their home or park and have this month launched a new CRM system built with this in mind.
Turners Parks Group
Tel. 01638 722232
www.turnersparksgroup.com

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