Swimming Pool Scene HOLIDAY PARK POOLS
Achieving The Water Play ‘Wow’ Factor
Zero-depth splash pads can offer holiday parks the ‘wow’ factor and can provide the ideal tool for attracting and retaining guests.
Ustigate Waterplay specialise in splash pads and above ground water features sourced from Vortex International. The company recently installed a Caribbean and natured-themed splash pad at Drusilla’s Park in East Sussex in an area of the park that had previously contained outdated wooden play equipment. To achieve the Caribbean and nature theme, Ustigate specified products from the Nature Collection which utilise organic shapes and colours to transform the splash pad into an exotic play environment. A range of ground water jets were installed such as a side winders, directional jets and a cylinder spray to provide a number of play opportunities for children. In the teen bay, two spray cannons were incorporated into the final design. The cannons rotate 360° and can be moved up and down allowing cannon users to soak anyone who gets too close. The fully PWTAG compliant filtration and recirculated system ensures the highest quality water for children to play in. “The problems in the holiday park pool sector we find are
When selecting a pool company to partner with for servicing and maintenance, Craig advises that preparation is key: “Firstly, do not judge on cost. I know that is an important factor, but you need to consider why they cheaper than the rest. Get references and go and see past works. If you have a couple of projects, give them a go at a smaller one first and use the bigger companies for the big projects.” He adds: “It has taken a number of years for us to get the right contractors for the right jobs, so it’s always worth checking what they specialise in and use them for that area.”
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Holiday parks have been a big market for Cresta Leisure since the late eighties. Having refurbished a number of large park pools and private park pools over the years, the company is well-known and well-regarded within the industry for their expertise in the field. “Holiday park pools are unique, in that they’ve got to be many different things to many different people,” explains Simon Bareham of Cresta Leisure.
“Knowing the clientele of the park is essential in order to get the pool facilities just right.”
Cresta Leisure is currently installing a teaching pool at Brean Sands Holiday Park in Somerset, which is due for completion later this year. The team has also recently expanded the pool hall at Haven’s Primrose Valley Park in North Yorkshire, complete with new filtration and new water features. “Water features are a popular addition for holiday park pools
ABOVE: Ustigate Waterplay recently installed a Caribbean and natured- themed splash pad at Drusilla’s Park in East Sussex.
that they sometimes have difficulties employing staff to look after their swimming and paddling pools,” comments Ernie Hemming of Ustigate. “A great alternative is a zero-depth splash pad where there is no standing water eliminating the chances of drowning hence not requiring fulltime staff. Furthermore, as considerably less water will be used means savings on chemicals and perhaps a smaller water system can be put in place.”
and depending on the complexity, can really set a pool apart from others. While they may be important for guest appeal, they can be expensive,” Simon comments. He adds: “Ultimately, when it comes to swimming facilities, holiday park owners want as bigger bang for their buck as possible.”
DYE TESTING
Cresta Leisure is seeing an increase in requests for new and refurbished holiday park pools to be dye tested, as described in annex A of EN15288-2-2008. The dye test is carried out to prove that there are no dead pockets present in the pool where there is no circulation with consequential localised bacterial growth. Dye tests are carried out by neutralising any chlorine present in the pool then adding a colouring agent to the chemical injection point. The entire swimming pool should evenly colour within 15 minutes. “This will be new to many UK pool contractors and it is something that should be very seriously considered at the design stage,” explains Tim Bareham of Cresta Leisure. “In the UK there are many holiday park pools which are skimmer pools, which are very difficult to balance the draw off the pool surface. Pools with over 200 sqm of surface area require many skimmers to achieve 70+% surface skimming and these are notoriously difficult to balance sufficiently to achieve the above dye test results.”
He continues: “If there is any doubt that satisfactory dye test results can be achieved with a freeboard pool design, the pool
Swimming Pool Scene HOLIDAY PARK POOLS 27
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