Major expansion plans at Swift

Swift Holdings UK Ltd is seeking permission to build 108 homes on land to the west of Dunswell Road in Cottingham in order to fund the expansion of their business.

Swift, the UK's biggest manufacturer of touring caravans and motorhomes, owns the site which was previously used to manufacture and store caravans.

According to a report to councillors, the sale of the site is expected to raise £6.65m which will finance the construction of new highway improvements and "crucial" expansion of commercial activities.

Hull Council is also backing the development due to its "essential role in securing the expansion of the existing company".

Officers have recommended approval, saying that while the development is relatively high density and on the outskirts of Cottingham, it has a "relatively high quality design" and contains a large area of open space.

Swift is the only company in Europe to manufacture touring caravans, motor homes and holiday homes and the group recently signed a £30m financing agreement with GE Capital to help fund its increase in sales.

The firm cut more than 300 jobs during the downturn but during the past year has added about 200 bringing the workforce back up to 900.

Swift's recovery is reported to have come about as a result of the increasing popularity of holidaying in UK and the weakness of sterling and expects to see sales return to about £200m this year.

New facilities for Staffordshire holiday caravan park

Visitors to a caravan park near Lichfield in Staffordshire will soon be able to enjoy a game of bowls or tennis after proposals to build new facilities were given the go-ahead.

Lichfield District Council planning chiefs approved the plan for a tarmac tennis court and crown green bowls facility at the Kingfisher Holiday Park at Fradley Junction.

The scheme will see the caravan site’s boundary being expanded to accomodate the new features for its guests.

Seton Sands Holiday Park wins Bellamy Award

Seton Sands Holiday Park on the Firth of Forth has received a David Bellamy Gold Conservation Award in recognition of its efforts to boost the environment.

The David Bellamy awards recognise initiatives involved with conservation, recycling, cutting down on waste, and promoting wildlife.

As well as implementing initiatives to be energy efficient, park bosses have organised three beach clean-ups this year and constructed a path which allows customers to explore a nearby meadow.

On hearing the news, park general manager Becky Roberts said “This is fantastic news and my thanks go to the team here who have worked very hard at improving our green credentials”.

The park plans to further improve its energy efficiency by installing more low-energy light bulbs, sensor lighting and increasing its recycling rate.

BMF supports 2011 Boat and Caravan Show

The British Marine Federation (BMF) has confirmed its support of the Boat and Caravan Show on 22-27 February 2011.

Now in its 4th year, the annual event at the Birmingham NEC is increasingly popular with both visitors and exhbitiors alike.

Executive director of the BMF Howard Pridding said "The BMF is pleased to support the Boat and Caravan Show at the NEC in Birmingham - an increasingly important show in the industry calendar. We look forward to working with Ocean Media to encourage BMF members to exhibit at an event that can help them develop and grow their businesses."

Show director Andy Gibb said "What makes our show unique is that we offer boating exhibitors the opportunity to showcase their products to an audience of new, potential boaters not delivered by any other show in the industry calendar - caravanners, motorhomers and campers. We are delighted to be working with the British Marine Federation, bringing to members a potential audience of over 83,000 visitors."

Theft from caravan in Somerset

Police have appealed for help in identifying these three men following a burglary in Brean.

A grainy CCTV image of the trio has been released by police as they investigate a burglary from a caravan.

A police spokesman said "The three men may be able to help with our enquiries into a case of burglary from a caravan at 12.30pm on 2nd October at a public house premises in Brean". 

Anyone with any information about the three men, who are shown wearing dark clothing, should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555.

Caravan arson attack in Oxfordshire

Fire crews were called out to three suspected arson attacks in Oxfordshire over the weekend, including one attack on a caravan.

On Friday night, a caravan was destroyed in the suspected arson attack near Didcot.  Fire crews from Watlington and Wallingford were called to the A4074 in Preston Crowmarsh at about 6.35am. Firefighters doused two gas cylinders with water to make sure they did not explode but the caravan was completely destroyed.

In separate incidents, firefighters were also called out to car fires in South Oxford and Bicester, one vehicle was completely destroyed and the other severely damaged.

Pidley couple win top caravan site award

David and Jayne Newman, who run the popular Stroud Hill Park near Pidley in Cambridgeshire, won the top caravan site award at the Farmers Weekly Diversification Farmer of the Year 2010.

The couple received the award at the annual ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on the 7th October.

Guests staying at the Newmans’ 60-pitch caravan site on their 62-hectare farm benefit from an award-winning restaurant serving local produce and home-reared meat, as well as the use of fishing lakes and tennis courts.

All development has been carried out with care for the environment in mind, and wildlife diversity encouraged in the native woodland and wetland habitats.

Judges were impressed by the energy shown by Mr and Mrs Newman in researching their ideas and executing them to a high standard.

They commented “David and Jayne have shown outstanding skill and made the most of the resources available. They understand their customer needs and have tailored their business to suit. They have shown huge energy in converting a small family farm into a successful business offering quality recreation and conservation.”

“We were honoured to receive the award from Farmers Weekly,” said Jayne Newman. “Our motivation has always been to keep the family farming business alive and sustainable. The fact that our diversification plans have worked out so successfully, is down to a lot of hard work and a terrific team here at Stroud Hill Park.”

For further details about Stroud Hill Park visit the website at http://www.stroudhillpark.co.uk/

Driver towed 10 in caravan from Stoke to Gwynedd

A motorist who towed a caravan carrying three women and seven children has been banned from driving for two years.

Sameer Mirzar, 46, of Stoke-on-Trent, drove the 10.5ft x 6ft (3m x 1.8m) caravan for about 100 miles (160km) for a picnic in Llanberis, Gwynedd.

Mirzar, who admitted dangerous driving, was stopped by traffic police after other drivers saw the curtains moving.

North Wales Police told Caernarfon magistrates court it was "totally irresponsible behaviour".

The 10 occupants of the caravan included six children aged between five and 14.

The driver, an airline worker from Saudi Arabia, pleaded ignorance of the law and highway code, adding that he would never put his family in a dangerous position.

Sgt Ifan Jones told the court: "It was totally irresponsible behaviour and could have had disastrous consequences.

"The consequences of this caravan overturning or being involved in a collision are unimaginable. It was risking the lives of innocent people unnecessarily".

Mirzar was banned from driving for two years and must retake his test.

He was fined £900 with £215 costs.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

UK holiday park operator put on the market

Park Holidays UK, one of the country’s longest-established holiday home and caravan groups, has been put up for sale by its majority shareholder.

The private equity firm Graphite Capital led a £130 million MBO/MBI of Park Holidays in January 2006 and now wants to reap its profits after having built up sales to £64 million and increased the number of parks owned by the business from 19 to 25. The six additional holiday parks are all based in Devon and were acquired in three transactions.

The previous owners of Park Holidays UK operated the business under the name of Cinque Ports Leisure and had been steadily building up the business for twenty years before the buyout.

Graphite orchestrated a refinancing of the company in 2007, resulting in substantial windfalls to the shareholders.

The private equity group has appointed PriceWaterhouseCoopers to find a purchaser for the company, which is expected to fetch in the vicinity of £200 million.

The caravan park sector has traditionally been very fragmented, with a relatively small percentage of the estimated 1500 or so sites around the UK in the hands of larger corporate operators. However in the last three to four years a wave of consolidations has begun, including last month’s deal by Kings Park Capital to purchase a £15 million tranche of caravan parks in Cornwall and Yorkshire.

The sector has become even more attractive of late, as the number of Britons choosing to holiday at home rather than travel abroad has risen. The ‘staycation’ trend has been partly attributable to the downturn in the economy and the waning of the pound against the Euro.