Camping and Caravanning Club name new Chairman

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by Tom Leaning

The Camping and Caravanning Club have announced the appointment of Mel Hill as their new Chairman.

Mr Hill, from Mexborough, South Yorkshire, was appointed by the Club’s National Council during its November 2016 meeting at the Club’s Coventry headquarters.

Mr Hill, a retired Construction Manager, has a long and rich history with the Club. After a short time away from camping and caravanning, he re-joined the Club in 1987. Since starting off as a tent camper at school, he moved on to frame tents, trailer tents and caravans – he now owns a Lunar.

Robert Louden MBE, the Club’s Director General, said: “Mel has camping and caravanning in his blood, and is a great ambassador for the Club.

“He continues to be active within his local District Association and has held many important positions as a member of the National Council over the years. Most recently, he was the Club’s Vice Chairman between 2014 and 2016, before being elected Chairman in November – a fitting recognition of his hard work and commitment.”

Mr Hill continues to use his touring caravan most weekends, both when fulfilling duties as Chairman and enjoying local Club unit camping meets and events.

He said: “The touring industry continues to grow and more and more young families are joining us and getting into camping. The types of units available are changing to meet the needs of modern campers too, and manufacturers are developing new ranges and adopting new technologies to make camping more accessible and exciting.”

Along with the Chairman’s appointment, the National Council also elected Phil Henson as the new Club Vice-Chairman to work alongside Mel. Anne Dearling, who held the post of Club Chairman for the previous two years, now becomes Immediate Past Chairman.

The Camping and Caravanning Club is 115-years-old and appointed TV presenter Julia Bradbury as its Club President in 2013 – the first female to be bestowed with the title in history. The Club works with Julia, as well as explorer and Club Vice President Bear Grylls, and naturalist Chris Packham, to highlight the benefits of getting outdoors with camping.

The Club recently celebrated recording its highest ever membership of more than 293,000 households. To learn more about the Club, visit: www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk.

Holiday Park sets 60-year visitor record during NYE celebrations

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by Tom Leaning

A Cumbrian village’s population almost doubled over New Year with celebrating campers visiting the area.

Michael Holgate of Silverdale Holiday Park says his business set a 60-year record for people choosing to spend the New Year break away from home.

More than 1,000 guests were partying and popping the corks on their bubbly on 31 January, he says, nearly doubling the village’s population of some 1,500 people.

But not all families, said Mr Holgate, were staying in snug and centrally-heated holiday homes.

Also pitching up were scores of campers and owners of touring caravans, plus people with motorhomes and others booking one of the park’s glamping pods.

“The rise in people coming away for Christmas and New Year has been evident for some time, but this year the numbers rocketed,” said Mr Holgate.

“Many say that they have a much more relaxing break when everyone is on neutral territory and away from their usual family surroundings.

“We certainly find that it makes for a great stress-free atmosphere on the park, and we often find families coming together for impromptu parties,” he says.

Mr Holgate believes that Cumbria as a whole will benefit from the holiday year growing longer and producing fewer peaks and troughs throughout the calendar:

“Our six holiday parks employ around 135 people, and each year we find ourselves less reliant on seasonal staff and better able to provide more full-time positions.

“This allows us to attract higher calibre recruits, and to be able to invest in their personal training and development which benefits both them and us in the longer term.

“Four-season holidays also spread tourism spending more evenly throughout the year, and this helps the many smaller business which rely on our visitor trade,” said Mr Holgate.

This year, he added his business has also been able to provide New Year accommodation at two luxury cottages opened alongside Silverdale’s popular local pub, The Royal.

After standing empty since 2010, The Royal re-opened in spring this year following a £300,000 refurbishment project by Mr Holgate’s family business.

There is more information about Silverdale Holiday Park, and the five other Cumbria and North Lancashire parks belonging to the Holgates group, at www.holgates.co.uk

CaravanTimes wishes you a Happy 2017!

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by Tom Leaning

The whole CaravanTimes team would like to wish our readers a very happy 2017.

We hope you have had a great year and made some amazing memories with your caravans and motorhomes.

Now is the time to look forward to a fresh year ahead and more exciting times out on the roads, on campsites and in caravan parks with family and friends.

Have an awesome year everyone, and wherever you find yourselves, make sure you make 2017 a memorable year!

The CaravanTimes Team

Theft leaves caravan owners homeless over Christmas

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by Tom Leaning

Caravan owners were left homeless over Christmas after their mobile home was stolen from from a site in East Berkshire.

Thames Valley Police are appealing for information following the theft of the caravan and a 4×4 vehicle from Darlings Lane Stables in Darlings Lane near Maidenhead.

Both vehicles are believed to have been taken between 9pm on 23rd December and 2am on Christmas Eve, 24th December.

The Caravan was a Hobby Excellent 695 VIP with the serial number WHB19N57L0FF31104.

The 4×4 was a Toyota Hilux, with the registration LL62 VGG.

Police believe the vehicle and caravan may have been transported out of the country by ferry, as large gas bottles were removed prior to the theft, items which would not be permitted on a ferry or tunnel crossing.

Investigating officer PC William Holbrook said: “This was a particularly devastating crime as the caravan is the victims’ home, and this left them homeless over Christmas. Their onsite office was also ransacked.

“I am appealing for anyone who knows the whereabouts of the two stolen vehicles, or who knows the identity of the offenders, to come forward and contact Thames Valley Police on the non-emergency number 101.”

Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Caravan business raises £8k for cancer charity

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by Tom Leaning

A Cumbrian caravan company has raised thousands of pounds for local cancer patients at its 35th anniversary ball.

More than £8,000 was raised for the Rosemere Cancer Foundation by Kendal Caravans at its celebration and fundraising night, according to the Westmorland Gazette.

The sum will provide a much-needed boost to the charity’s valued work in supporting cancer patients being treated in Cumbria and Lancashire.

Kendal Caravans, based at Selside, near Kendal, is one of northern England’s largest holiday home distributors.

The company head, Mark Molyneaux said in his gala speech: “The professionalism and commitment of our staff to providing a first-class service has helped build Kendal Caravans’ strong reputation in the holiday parks supply industry.

“I would also like to give a big thank-you to the many suppliers which had sponsored the anniversary ball, and whose support had enabled the event to raise £8,000 for a very deserving cause.”

Premier League footballer offers to buy caravan for homeless mother-to-be

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by Tom Leaning

West Bromwich Albion footballer, James McClean, has offered to pay for a caravan for a pregnant homeless woman.

Mr McClean offered to buy the woman, known only as Lisa, a caravan when he learned of her plight through a national newspaper.

According to the Express & Star of the West Midlands, Lisa, 36, is believed to be five months pregnant with twins and currently living in a tent under a bridge with her partner Wally near the River Medway in Kent.

The Northern Irish-born footballer said “no babies should be living homeless” and that he’d be “willing to buy the caravan himself”.

Mr McClean made his generous offer via his wife, Erin’s, Facebook profile:

The former Sunderland and Wigan Athletic player posted: “Look I know it ain’t much and even if it’s temporary until a house is found but being a father myself no babies should live homeless so I would be willing to purchase this caravan for them and keep them out of the cold.”

The 27-year-old Irish international attached an advert for a £1,750 Swift Corvette caravan for sale in Maidstone, Kent.

Scottish caravan park to bring back static homes with flotation devices

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by Tom Leaning

A Cairngorms caravan park is still picking up the pieces from last year’s devastating storm and wants new innovative safety solutions after Storm Frank left trail of destruction.

Storm Frank caused chaos throughout many parts of Scotland over the 2015 Christmas period, including at Ballater Caravan and Camping Park, located in the Cairngorms National Park.

Static caravans were seen floating down the river as floodwaters broke through the park and the village defences, according to Aberdeen’s Evening Express.

But since then the site has managed to reopen to touring caravans and is hopeful of seeing static caravans return next year – but with specialist flotation devices attached.

Alistair Cassie, one of the directors of the facility, said it was slowly getting back on its feet and, on the touring caravan side, had enjoyed a good year.

Mr Cassie told the Evening Express: “The tourist site is up and running. It was a late opening season but it has been a very successful season and people are delighted with the site.”

“People are saying it is a better standard than it was before – that’s the positive side.

“As far as the old part, we’re hoping to get a limited number of static stances – possibly 10 – for next season.”

However, Mr Cassie said for owners to get their holiday homes insured they were going to have to take extra steps.

“In order for people to get insurance, the caravans will have to be mounted on a floatation system,” he said.

“It’s basically a concrete base on the ground and the flotations are polystyrene blocks fixed to the caravan.

“If it does flood again – and that’s if, it might never – they rise up with the water and are anchored with chains.

“They rise with the water and no real damage is done and people can get insurance.

“It’s quite expensive to do, so we’re limited as to how many we can do, and it’ll depend on demand.

“We’re having a meeting with every past caravan user at the beginning of the year to gauge the interest.”

At the time of the flooding there were around 90 caravans on the site, but Mr Cassie said with the new regulations for the site that number would likely drop.

“The flood was one of those freak things that happened,” he said.

“Time is a great healer and people will forget, but then on the other hand people don’t want to take too many risks. But every time you drive up the road you take a risk and if it’s a one-in-200-year flood it’s quite a reasonable risk to take.

“We’re hopeful it’ll get back to what it was. If we change it dramatically all the services have to be changed – the drains and the electrics.

“If there’s not an uptake or demand for the statics we might have seasonal pitches again, but we’re limited as the toilet block can only handle so many people.

“We could take an extra 15 or 20 caravans and cope but anything else would put stress on the toilets and we’d have to build a new block which is mega money again.”

Mr Cassie, who runs the nearby General Merchant store and is a Royal Warrant holder, estimated the damage at the caravan park at around £500,000.

Merry Christmas to all our readers!

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By Tom Leaning

The team at CaravanTimes would like to wish all our members and readers a very Happy Christmas ahead of this festive weekend.

Whether you are out on the wintery roads, sipping mulled wine at a campsite or round the fire at home this Christmas, everyone at CaravanTimes hopes all our readers are full to the brim with Christmas spirit and spending quality time with friends and loved ones.

Merry Christmas everyone!

From all of us at CaravanTimes

Caravan park receives `best Christmas present` after winning appeal against closure

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By Tom Leaning

A caravan park owner in Gloucestershire is celebrating victory this Christmas after years of fighting against the threat of closure by the local council.

The fate of Beech Hill Farm in Westerleigh, which accommodates about 50 caravans belonging to residents of the nearby area, looked in doubt after an application to officially convert the use of land to caravan storage was denied by South Gloucestershire Council, according to the Gloucestershire Gazette.

Despite the land being originally designated for agricultural use, owner Deborah Martin was forced to look for alternatives for income after she discovered the land was a former landfill site and was unable to grow or farm anything on the site.

The caravan site was set up in 2003 and proved a popular service for residents in the Chipping Sodbury area, until an enforcement order to remove the caravans was made in 2007.

Nothing followed until 2014 when the enforcement officers visited the site, leaving Deborah with the decision of whether to close down or fight for the change of use.

But having applied in March last year, the proposal was denied due to being in the green belt.

When at capacity, the one acre site houses around 100 caravans, but the site has only been about half full for the past two years after concerns over the future of the site resulted in a number of the caravan owners leaving.

Deborah said that those who have remained joined the campaign, giving her the strength to fight on.

Ms Martin told the Gloucestershire Gazette: “It has been the support not just from those storing their caravans, but the community as a whole that has really kept me going. They have all been brilliant.”

Having filed an appeal against the decision, the case was heard at a hearing on 23 November, with dozens of patrons of the site turning out to show their support.

“Twice as many people turned out for the appeal hearing as the council’s planning inspector had prepared for,” said Deborah. “She said she had never seen anything like it before.”

The decision to uphold the appeal was announced on Thursday, 15 December, just in time for Christmas.

A South Gloucestershire Council spokesman said: “The planning inspector acknowledged that the proposal would be inappropriate development in the green belt which is harmful by definition.

“However she went on to say that for this particular application a number of very special circumstances exist which justify the development.”

Deborah said: “I am so glad I kept fighting, and overjoyed for all the people who have a caravan on our site.

“Many are elderly or disabled and are not able to holiday abroad, but there are also a lot with young families, who enjoy being able to get away for a weekend together.

“I couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present for everyone, especially as some were panicking that they might have to sell up.”

Norfolk resort receives best park award

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By Tom Leaning

Judges of Norfolk’s most prestigious tourism awards scheme have named Searles Leisure Resort as the county’s best park.

The family-owned business based in Hunstanton in north Norfolk took the overall prize in the holiday park and village category in the EDP Hoseasons Tourism Awards 2016. It was described by the judges as the county’s out-and-out champion of “amazing and truly memorable” park holidays.

Searles’ accolade came at the end of a year which saw the park receive a raft of national awards for aspects of its business from environmental care to its quality standards.

But according to managing director Paul Searle, this home-grown honour has a special significance as it highlights the cream of the county’s tourism providers.

Having been based in Norfolk for over 60 years, said Paul, he and his family felt “proud and humbled” to have been judged as the perfect place for families to enjoy a park holiday.

From its beginnings as a small donkey field where caravanners could pitch up in exchange for a bag of potatoes, Searles today provides a vast array of holiday accommodation.

There are more than 500 caravan holiday homes and lodges, some with private hot-tubs, as well as 300-plus touring pitches plus luxury timber camping pods.

Its wide range of highly-praised attractions range from water zorbing, jet-skis, swimming pools and all-weather sports pitches to a gym, fishing, karts, tennis, archery and curling.

The park has also announced that the 2017 season will open with £1 million worth of additional activities which are being introduced this winter.

They will include an indoor “water wonderland”, a climbing wall with equipment and instruction, and an outdoor fitness park with an array of gymnastic challenges in the fresh air.

Judges of the EDP Hoseasons Tourism Awards, organised by the Eastern Daily Press, said that Searles is a vital and highly valued component of Norfolk’s £3 billion tourism economy.

The park, they pointed out, employs around 200 people, and provides valuable training and skills development opportunities to staff including many younger workers.

Judges also noted that Searles in recent times had recorded an impressive five percent year-on-year growth in visitor numbers with 2016 likely to prove an all-time record.

“This award is a fantastic finale to our season which will help give us a flying start to next year – and I hope the publicity will help boost other local businesses,” said Paul.

“We’re especially pleased that a strong emphasis in these awards was placed on the quality of the hospitality provided, and delivering this is largely in the hands of our staff teams.

“For that reason, they must take a large share of the credit for our success,” added Paul whose grandparents William and Alice Searle first registered the park in 1954.

Driving the park forward today are Paul together with his brother Andrew and sister Joanna. There is more information about Searles Leisure Resort at www.searles.co.uk

Ben Fogle and friends headline February Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show

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By Tom Leaning

Ben Fogle heads the celebrities* attending the Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show 2017, which takes place at Birmingham’s NEC from 21 to 26 February.

Presenter of Countryfile and more recently New Lives in the Wild, Ben Fogle shares his love of the great outdoors alongside TV’s Kate Humble, Caravan and Camping Club president Julia Bradbury and one of TV’s popular bakers, Selasi Gbormittah.

The show’s Discovery Theatre will host an audience Q&A and talks by Fogle along with other celebrities on their own experiences of camping and caravanning, with tips from the industry experts on how to make the most out of outdoor adventures.

With over 350 exhibitors, including caravans, motorhomes, campervans, trailer tents, folding campers, tents, caravan holiday homes, camping equipment and thousands of accessories, February’s show provides inspiration for those planning their next holiday. The much-loved dog agility arena will return as well as many new features for 2017, including bushcraft workshops where visitors can learn essential survival skills.

This year’s show has plenty of free, have-a-go features for all the family, including an indoor children’s assault course. The Visit Wales area includes a mobile climbing mountain; a virtual reality experience of Europe’s longest zip wire; as well as an artificial caving feature where visitors can ‘rope up’ and be guided through the tunnels. A towing and manoeuvring skills area will offer expert tuition for those new to caravanning and motorhome holidays, as well as those who want to brush up on their techniques.

Advance ticket prices start from £7.00 per person and children 15 and under enter for free*.

Tickets are on sale now and can be ordered through the website: www.ccmshow.co.uk

*Advance ticket price for adults is £8.00/senior (60+) £7.00 until 23:59 on 20.02.2017. On the door price for adults is £10.00/seniors (60+) £9.00. Children 15 and under go free. Celebrity line-up may be subject to change.

Parkdean Resorts agrees £1.35bn sale to Canadian investment group

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By Tom Leaning

Onex Corporation has announced it has agreed to acquire the North East-based Parkdean Resorts for £1.35 billion.

Onex is a large private equity firm based in Toronto, Canada. The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2017, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

Parkdean Resorts owns and operates 73 caravan holiday parks across England, Scotland and Wales, selling more than 500,000 holidays and short breaks a year. The company offers a wide range of accommodation, from caravans and camping pitches to chalets, apartments and lodges. Parkdean Resorts employs over 6,000 staff during the peak holiday season and is headquartered in Hemel Hempstead and Newcastle.

“Parkdean Resorts has built the market-leading affordable holiday park business in the UK, with a strong base of loyal customers in an attractive segment of the domestic holiday market,” said Tony Morgan, a Managing Director with Onex. “We are excited to partner with John Waterworth and his team to continue to support the company’s growth, both organically and through acquisition.”

“This is an exciting opportunity for Parkdean Resorts,” said John Waterworth, Parkdean Resorts’ Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to working with Onex to further enhance our parks and leisure facilities during our next phase of growth.”

Onex Partners IV and Onex have committed to make an equity investment of approximately CAD$750 million.