THE boss of Butlin’s has revealed plans to open a brand new holiday park in the UK – by buying an old Pontins site.
Pontins Southport was forced to close back in January just days after it reopened for the new year.
However, managing director of Butlin’s, Jon Henry Pickup, said the holiday resort was interested in buying the abandoned park.
He told the Mirror: “We would definitely still be interested – we would definitely like a conversation with them.
“It is an existing site so there is no need to dig up the countryside.”
If the buyout went ahead, he added that they would start from scratch when building the park, knocking down the current holiday lodges and attractions.
While discussing plans to buy Southport, he also said they had contacted Pontins’ owner Britannia Hotels in regard to the sites in Merseyside and Prestatyn in north Wales.
Butlin’s already has three resorts in the UK – Minehead, Bognor Regis and Skegness.
A new park in Southport would open up the north west to Butlin’s fans.
While Pontins once had as many as 30 holiday parks in the UK, just two remain open – Pakefield Holiday Village and and Sandbay Holiday Village.
Along with the closure of Southport, both Prestatyn and Camber Sands also closed earlier this year.
Whereas Butlin’s – set to have a record 1.5million guests this year – has revealed new attractions and plans for it’s parks in the UK.
The largest of the new attractions is the £2.5million Skypark playground at Butlin’s Minehead.
Similar to the Skypark at Skegness, it will have six zones as well as the UK’s longest swingline, measuring 137ft.
Other additions include light up slides, seesaws and trampolines.
It is set to open by the summer.
Butlin’s Skegness, is also opening something new, with the £12million Maple Walk village set to open next month.
The park will have 128 premium lodges, each with three bedrooms, kitchen and lounge, and will be a short walk from the main area.
And Butlin’s Bognor Regis is opening it’s £15million Playxperience attraction by autumn.
Inside the two-floor activity centre will be games such as mini golf, VR experiences and escape rooms.
The new additions are part of a massive £150million investment into the parks, which is ongoing until 2027.
Mum Catherine Lofthouse has been visiting the Butlin's parks for 40 years - here's her verdict:
“When I was little, my family would head to Butlin’s every July for a week by the sea, and I even worked at the Minehead resort as a lifeguard in my teens.
“One thing that’s always set Butlin’s apart from its rivals are the photo opportunities that you have during your break, including Teletubbies and TV star Stephen Mulhern.
“There’s also lots of sports and activities to choose from, like football, archery, crafts and soft play.
“One of the things I miss from holidays gone by are the monorails that ran at Skegness and Minehead from the 1960s for forty years.
“I think Butlin’s lost its way a bit in the 2000s when it seemed to become a mecca for stag and hen dos, but in the last decade, there’s been a bit of a turnaround in terms of rebranding and investment.
“I would say that anyone who hasn’t been for a while or who has written Butlin’s off as not for them might be wise to give it another go.”
Last month, the parks launched it’s first all-inclusive package deals which includes cocktails and other alcohol has well as drinks from the on-site Costa Coffee.
And Butlin’s 2025 holidays are now on sale for as little as £13pp a night.
