Park People www.parkworld-online.com


How frustrating have the delays been? It’s been very difficult because we have a staff base we have been building up since the spring and we are still keeping those people warm for when we open. Absolutely everything we have done in good faith, but to be told on the 25th of June that we were not going to get they keys was disappointing. We have had a series of false starts since then, I think four dates that have been missed by the contractor. It’s been very frustrating and I think had we known then what we know now we would have written off this season and opened next spring. Once you start going into the winter, it really hasn’t got the same momentum.


You plan to stay open year-round though? Yes. We really are building this facility as two distinct and separate businesses. The first one is the tourist season, and the second is the events business, which is very important to us. We are already getting about 40 enquiries a week on the events side, a combination or private functions, weddings, concerts and conferences. We are desperate to prove the model and establish ourselves as a serious player in the market. We want to pitch ourselves as a mini indoor theme park, so it doesn’t matter if it’s raining. If it’s beautiful day outside, fantastic, we’ve got 800 seats for you to sit out on the deck. I think something else that will sell us is there’s no entry fee. Piers have always been perceived as value for money, and I don’t see we will be anything other than that going forward.


How big is the “holiday at home” trend in the UK? I think it’s happening more and more. We’ve all got used to getting in a plane to go and get some sun, but it’s only about the sun. If you take the sun away from some resorts, what have you got? Very little. The UK’s got so much more to offer if you stay and look, so much more culture, more heritage, and much more for the kids to do at the seaside.


ABOVE: Workers take a spin on the new go-kart track by Gravitron LEFT: The pier missed out on big crowds this summer in Weston-super-Mare


PARTS & SERVICE


SEPTEMBER 2010


23


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40