Inside once-thriving Pontins seaside holiday park loved by families that’s now sitting empty after sudden closure
A ONCE-THRIVING Pontins holiday park now sits eerily empty after abruptly closing its doors.
The company have shuttered its location in Prestatyn, Wales, leaving locals bewildered.
Locals have weighed in on the head-scratching closure of the once-buzzing family holiday hotspot.
“It ought to be used for something. I think it should be a holiday camp again. The council could issue a compulsory purchase order [to help that happen],” local Pete Davis, 81, told NorthWalesLive.
Prestatyn resident Doreen Hughes doubled down on the pensioner’s thoughts.
She added: “It’s empty and I’d rather it was a holiday camp again.
“We moved here in 1973 and it was never any trouble to us.
“I don’t want it knocked down for more houses as I don’t feel there are enough doctors’ surgeries and schools – not enough infrastructure to support them.”
The town’s mayor Adrian West would also like some progress at the site owned by Britannia Hotels.
“I want to see the site brought back into some form of productive use again,” he said.
“For it just to be lying idle is doing nobody any good. I would not want it used (though) for some sort of industry, given that it’s right next to the waterfront.”
Pontins once had as many as 30 holiday parks open in the UK, although this fell to six in recent months.
With the recent closures, there are just two Pontins sites open in the UK.
Pakefield Holiday Park in Suffolk and and Sand Bay Holiday Village Somerset currently remain open.
And Pontins Brean Sands, the oldest of the holiday parks which dates back to the 1930s, is currently closed to the public due to a huge refurbishment including upgrades to 600 chalets.
Set to open in 2027, it is currently being used by workers at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in the meantime, as construction continues on a new nuclear power plant.
GRAND OPENING
But it’s not all doom and gloom for the domestic holiday park scene.
Unity Beach (previously Holiday Resort Unity) in Brean, Somerset has undergone a huge £15million renovation with a new entertainment venue, pub and sports bar opening on its site.
The location went into new ownership at the end of 2024.
The award-winning holiday park has a wave of new onsite venues, including an entertainment venue, pub and sports bar.
Earlier this year, The Holiday Park Guru revealed England’s top three underrated holiday parks – with private beaches, indoor water parks and jet skis for kids.
Meanwhile, Haven’s Weymouth Bay Holiday Park site plans to add 239 static caravans and a wildflower meadow in £20million expansion.
ON PONT
FAMILIES who live in Pontins resort that was closed to holidaymakers have told how much they love living in the park.
The holiday park in Brean, Somerset, was once a thriving hot spot for holidaymakers from all over the UK but is now home to 900 staff from Hinkley Point C nuclear plant.
The park is set to undergo a major refurbishment which will see upgrades to its 600 chalets and to its Wifi before reopening to the public in three years.
But the site is being used as accommodation by workers at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in the meantime, as construction continues on a new nuclear power plant due to open by 2027.
Residents have told how they love living on the site – with their children able to pop to the arcade or beach everyday.
Dad Tommy Marshall told Somerset Live: “I’ve been living here for six months, and it suits me because I can really make my chalet my own.
“My partner and six children, who live in Ireland, also come to stay with me regularly.
“The kids absolutely love it because there’s loads for them to do – like the beach, the amusement arcades and getting an ice-cream.
“They wish they could live here all the time.”