Devon holiday park welcomes its MP to a great reception!
Staff and the family owners of a popular Devon holiday park have marked the opening of a new reception building with the help of their local Member of Parliament.
Neil Parish MP was the VIP guest at Oakdown Holiday Park near Sidmouth where the £140,000 project was recently completed in time for the summer season.
Mr Parish, who represents Tiverton and Honiton, cut the tape on the building where holidaymakers will now be welcomed to multi-award winning park.
The five-month project involved 20 local tradespeople and the use of many traditional craft skills and natural materials during the construction.
One of the features of the eco-friendly project is a large oak desking area made from timber which was reclaimed from an ancient fallen tree on the park’s farmland.
Stone tiles and natural floor-coverings are incorporated, together with low energy lighting and high levels of thermal insulation to further reduce the park’s carbon footprint.
The 110 square metre building also includes a meetings room, seating areas, and washroom and toilet facilities for people with limited mobility.
Owned by the Franks family for almost 45 years, Oakdown Holiday Park provides luxury caravan holiday homes to rent and to buy, plus glamping accommodation and touring pitches.
Its many accolades include both national and regional tourism awards, and the top gold David Bellamy Conservation Award for the park’s raft of environmental initiatives.
Facilities include a highly rated coffee lodge specialising in locally sourced food and drink, and the 9-hole Oak Mead Golf Course with superb views over the surrounding countryside.
Alastair Franks, who runs the park with his wife Andrianna and parents Doreen and Roger, said they were thrilled with the new reception building:
“It is always important to us that new developments on the park are a match to the quality of the natural surroundings of Oakdown,” he said.
“We were also pleased to be able to find local builders and craftspeople to carry out the work, and their skills have achieved just the high standards we were seeking.
“The opening event was a great success, and we are very grateful to Neil Parish MP for taking time out to help us celebrate the launch,” he added.
Oakdown employs around 20 full and part-time staff, and Alastair Franks says that advance bookings suggest that this could be one of the park’s busiest years on record.
There is more information about the park at www.oakdown.co.uk
