Holiday park development on the Northumberland coast in line for completion in time for easing of lockdown

The development at the Golden Sands holiday park in Cresswell is expected to increase visitor spend into the local area by around £550,000 a year.

Nigel Thompson of Northumbrian Leisure, whose family acquired the site 30 years ago, said: “Despite the impact of the lockdown, we’ve remained focused on completing our expansion here at Golden Sands as we continue to grow and develop our park for static caravan owners.

“A combination of people not wanting to or being unable to holiday abroad or go on a cruise as a result of Covid or Brexit has led to a surge in demand for static caravan holiday home ownership – especially in prime seaside locations like the Northumberland coast. Pitches are in short supply, especially in coastal locations.

“Our Water’s Edge development will offer holiday makers the chance to have a caravan holiday home here on the beautiful Northumberland coast that they can access all year round, while supporting the local economy by generating much-needed annual spend.”

He added: “We’ve invested a great deal of time and effort into this stunning new development, from the landscaping and planting of the site to make sure every pitch makes the most of its location.

“There’s no denying it continues to be a very challenging time for UK tourism. But hopefully, we’re seeing light at the end of the tunnel with the Government’s plan to re-open the country. Our owners are counting down the days until they can return back to their caravan and we can’t wait to welcome them back.”

The project safeguarded 10 jobs directly through the construction phase as well as a creating 20 secondary jobs including landscaping, sales and maintenance positions across the company.

The ten-acre development is on target for completion to coincide with the Government’s planned easing of travel restrictions which will see holiday parks reopening on April 12 in line with the four-step roadmap to take England out of lockdown.

Northumbrian Leisure’s caravan site portfolio includes Glororum Holiday Park at Bamburgh, Cliff Top and Stone Close in Seahouses, Riverside Holiday Park at Warkworth and Sandhaven Holiday Park in South Shields.

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