By William Coleman
Despite what some may say, hard work does pays off. And that has never been truer for the dedicated ground staff at Silverdale Holiday Park in south Cumbria as they beat their deadline on a major development project.
The half a million pound makeover project on January 1st this year and the race was on to get the work finished before the Easter weekend rush. The project was not a smooth sailing venture though but despite the setbacks March’s snow brought the team pulled it out of the bag and complete the task with just days to spare.
The works on the site included a total refitting if the bar and restaurant, the building of a new luxury amenities for touring guests and the gym had a whole load of the latest exercise technology added.
On top of all the nice new guest facilities Silverdale have not forgotten about the local wildlife as they add new habitats as part of a major landscaping and conservation initiative.
According to business owner Michael Holgate, the deadline was successfully beaten by a team effort involving the park’s own ground staff and local contractors. The ground workers, said Michael, included extra new employees taken on this year at Silverdale and the five other nearby parks belonging to the Holgates Group.
They have brought the total number of staff to over 150, and all the new recruits came from nearby communities and have been offered training opportunities.
The additional ground staff, said Michael, were needed to help in a variety of roles, including putting the half-million pound investment programme into action: “It was a very time-critical exercise as we had only a few months when the park was less busy to complete all of the work before welcoming thousands of guests over Easter,” he said.
“We are anticipating another record year for visitor numbers and holiday home buyers, and we wanted all the new facilities in place for the new season.
“There was a lot of construction, maintenance and re-equipping work to do – but despite some very challenging weather at times, the April deadline was met.
“We are very fortunate to be able to recruit such excellent staff from the local area, and this winter has provided them with a great crash course in holiday park management!” said Michael.
Among those joining the Holgates team were Michael Finch (aged 20) and Steven Sharpe (aged 19) who both live in Silverdale, and who are now enrolled on the group’s training scheme.
The park provides around 500 caravan holiday homes to own and to rent, plus glamping pods for hire, and pitches for touring caravans, motorhomes and camping guests.
It also provides a leisure club with a strong local membership, and its facilities include the now re-equipped gymnasium together with a swimming pool and sauna and spa.
