The park sites making a splash
TWO-THIRDS of people are planning a break in Britain this year, according to research from ABTA, and the owners of a number of the country’s park homes sites are trying to get a slice of that market by pouring extra investment into their developments.
Hoburne Holiday Parks has seven locations across the South of England and is adding more accommodation, along with additional hot tubs and beauty treatment rooms.
Hoburne has parks where you can just rent a home for a holiday, and some where you can buy – at Naish, on a clifftop location at Barton-on-Sea in Hampshire, at Bashley in the New Forest, and at Hoburne Cotswold in Gloucestershire.
‘We have seen more people choosing to purchase their own holiday home to benefit from the location and facilities on offer at our parks,’ says Hoburne’s managing director, Rod Tucker. He adds that, unlike purchasing a holiday property, buying a holiday home with Hoburne doesn’t require a mortgage or additional fees, such as stamp duty.
This week, as part of English Tourism Week, which began yesterday, Hoburne is hosting a number of events to encourage people to visit its parks. The sites will have dog walks that will show off the best of each area, five of the sites will be serving typically English food in their Brasserie 1912 restaurants, and at the Doublebois location in Cornwall there will be a guided tour of Cardinham Woods on Thursday.
New homes at Naish are in a cul-de-sac called Mudeford Mews, named after the wellknown local beach.
At Bashley, Aspen is the name of the new development, and the homes reflect the upmarket nature of its American namesake with double parking bays and wi-fi.
At the Cotswolds site, the new development is called Water Lily Meadow, and, appropriately, it has water on its doorstep – there are 150 lakes at the nearby Cotswold Water Park.
Parkdean Resorts is investing £42million across its parks this year, including £13million on more than 800 new caravans and lodges. You can buy one of these from £29,995 and deposits are from ten per cent. Upgrades to retail and leisure facilities are ongoing and will be completed for the 2018 season.
Prospective holiday home buyers at Parkdean Resorts can try before they buy on the company’s ‘ownership experience days’. These include use of park facilities and a complimentary lunch, as well as a tour of the park and models of holiday homes for sale.
Parkdean is the largest holiday park operator in Britain, with 73 sites, 68 of which have homes that can be bought. There are parks across England, Scotland and Wales.
There are new holiday homes at the St Minver site in Cornwall, Bideford Bay in Devon, and Withernsea Sands in East Yorkshire.
Countrywide Park Homes recently opened its Puddledock Farm site in Thetford Forest, Norfolk. As with Hoburne’s homes, you do not pay stamp duty to buy one and all the properties are in council tax band A.
The park boasts a fishing pond, together with walking and cycling trails through the forest. There is also an on-site shop.
Prices for a home at Puddledock Farm start from £199,950.