Beleaguered Pontins closes Southport holiday park with just three sites left
The historic British holiday chain Pontins has announced it is closing its Southport site - less than six weeks after shutting two of its other parks.
In an announcement on Facebook, Pontins said the decision came “after assessing the future viability of the park” and that it would close immediately.
On 30 November, Pontins said its sites at Prestatyn Sands in North Wales and Camber Sands in East Sussex would also shut. The closures means the holiday firm, which is owned by Britannia Hotels, now has only two holiday sites remaining - Pakefield in Suffolk and Sand Bay in Somerset.
A third, Pontins Brean Sands in Somerset, was closed to holidaymakers last January for three years while it is used by EDF to house workers at the local Hinckley Point C nuclear power station.
Founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin, the beloved holiday destination provided budget staycations for families with young children for decades and, at its peak, had 30 locations across the UK. It was seen as an alternative to Butlin's and boasted a number of 'Bluecoat' entertainers who went on to become household names, including Shane Richie, Bobby Davro, Bradley Walsh and Lee Mack.
The business was sold to Coral in 1978 and then went through a number of owners before being saved from administration by Britannia Hotels in 2011.
Their busiest periods tend to be school holidays as there are dozens of activities for children, and just a month ago, they were advertising their festive themed breaks called ‘Dreamland’, starting at £79.
Darren Moore, the Conservative MP for Southport, said that while the closure was concerning for those who work there, it was also a "fantastic opportunity" for a new business to come in.
He said in a Facebook post: "Whilst the closure of Pontins is clearly concerning for the staff who I’m sure will be shocked, it provides a fantastic opportunity for a high-quality holiday accommodation provider to take over the site. Given its excellent location next to Ainsdale Beach, and with suitable investment, it could offer a substantial economic boost to Ainsdale and the wider Southport area."
According to the Mirror, hundreds of staff working at the Southport location were notifiedof their job losses by text message with some posting about their disappointment on social media. One woman expressed her sadness and said that, as of 3pm Wednesday, Pontins Southgate had shuttered their doors permanently, just an hour after staff were informed about their job loss.
The former employee wrote: “I spoke on Friday at length and had assurance and a signed contract until the end of 2024. So after 43 years it is no more and I am truly devastated for you all.”
The Prestatyn Sands and Camber Sands parks were closed at the end of November in a similarly announced Facebook post, weeks before the start of the busy holiday season. At the time, MP Gareth Davies posted on X (formerly known as Twitters ) that the Prestatyn Sands location has had a 'terrible reputation' and called the closure 'unexpected'.
In 2022, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission announced an investigation into Pontin's after a whistleblower revealed a list of "undesirable guests" that discriminated against Irish guests.
