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Golden Leas holiday park splashes out £1m for 'staycation summer'

Bosses of a holiday park on the Isle of Sheppey have spent £1 million preparing for an expected boost in demand for post-lockdown staycations.

Lovat Parks, which bought Golden Leas in Bell Farm Lane, Minster, in 2018, has invested in two new outdoor play areas and a gym.

Existing entrance to Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
Existing entrance to Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
The new multi-use game area is already being used at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey. It replaces a skateboard park
The new multi-use game area is already being used at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey. It replaces a skateboard park
The slide is just one of the new attractions for children at Golden Leas holiday park at Minster, Sheppey
The slide is just one of the new attractions for children at Golden Leas holiday park at Minster, Sheppey

It has created an 11-plot development called Humming Bird on the 22-acre site with its own road and is also planning a new entrance to welcome visitors from Plough Lane by the end of May.

General manager Jo Treadgold said: “It will allow a one-way system in and out of the park so it should ease traffic in Bell Farm Lane.”

A new reception and sales area will be built at the entrance. The existing one in Bell Farm Lane will be transformed into a “hang-out” for teenagers with a pool table.

Jo said: “It’s only right they have a place of their own.”

A former skateboard park has been taken down to make way for a multi-use games area for football and basketball. Jo said: “We still have the ramps and are happy to give them away to any community group which can make use of them.”

New pool-side dining and drinking area at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
New pool-side dining and drinking area at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
What the new Plough Lane entrance will look like at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
What the new Plough Lane entrance will look like at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey

The heated open-air pool has been given a makeover with an enlarged outside drinking and dining area with a heated patio.

Live entertainers set up at the “beach hut” until they are allowed back inside when lockdown restrictions are eased. The children’s play area now boasts a giant slide.

The park shop has been turned into a £15,000 gym, free for caravan owners, and the clubhouse has received a revamp with a new bar and bistro area.

Jo said: “The bar has had a fantastic makeover. It was very old-fashioned with red bricks and no central heating. There has been a complete transformation.”

It now has a giant 86-inch TV screen on the wall. There is even a new entertainment system with projector and screen to provide bingo and horse-racing nights.

New-look bar at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
New-look bar at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
New bistro at Golden Leas holiday park bistro at Minster, Sheppey
New bistro at Golden Leas holiday park bistro at Minster, Sheppey
New road leading to the Humming Bird development at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
New road leading to the Humming Bird development at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
New road leading to the Humming Bird development at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
New road leading to the Humming Bird development at Golden Leas holiday park, Minster, Sheppey
Golden Leas' Jo Treadgold with the new heart defibrillator at the holiday park in Minster, Sheppey
Golden Leas' Jo Treadgold with the new heart defibrillator at the holiday park in Minster, Sheppey

What holidaymakers won’t see are brand new power and water supplies hidden underground. Jo said: “In a way it is shame they are out of sight but it was important they were updated. A lot of things go on behind the scenes people just don’t see.”

One thing they will notice is a new heart defibrillator on the clubhouse wall. She said: “We felt it was important to have one."

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