The announcement of a new manager at the struggling Lossiemouth Bay Holiday Park has raised hopes it could be the start of a turn-around.
Owners of caravans and lodges have been speaking out about their poor treatment since it was taken over by national chain Park Holidays UK last June.
Residents have since described the decline of the park into a “scrapyard” and said they felt their “happy place was “slipping away” after being given an ultimatum to upgrade or move out.
Moray MP Douglas Ross, who visited the site in the summer when concerns were first raised, wants meeting with operator Park Holidays UK’s new boss in Lossiemouth, who is due to start this week.
The firms says it has already offered to meet with Mr Ross to outline the investment being made at the park while stressing this year’s increase in pitch fees has been set at below the rate of inflation.
Mr Ross says he is “hopeful” things can be improved with the new management in post.
James Ellison, who was responsible for holiday parks in Moray, including Lossiemouth, has now been moved to another park within the portfolio.
‘A dereliction of duty’
Mr Ross said: “The situation at Lossiemouth Bay Caravan Park has been nothing short of a disgrace and I have received concerns about the situation at Burghead as well.”
But he says there has been a “dereliction of duty” from those at Park Holidays who are responsible.
He adds it is “completely unacceptable” to hear residents describing the park as a “bombsite” as many feel they have had little option but to sell up.
However, Mr Ross now believes the situation “has only got much worse” since he visited in the summer.
At that meeting, he managed to get operators to promise to set up a twice-weekly clinic at the park – but owners said it never happened.
He made another request for a meeting earlier this month.
What has gone wrong at Lossiemouth Holiday Park?
Since new owners Park Holidays UK spent £9 million to take control of the site from Moray-based Christie Parks, there have been a number of complaints raised regarding how the park has changed.
- Fees have soared by around 50%, causing the number of static caravan owners to fall.
- Owners have been subjected to 24-pages of new rules and regulations, including restrictions on how long they can reside in the park.
- In a bid for “total uniformity”, some have been asked to rip up gardens and take down wooden decking and replace it with plastic.
- Claims also include communal grass areas not being maintained, the internet does not work and many streetlights being broken.
- Other lodge owners say they have felt “trapped” amid claims Park Holidays will take 18% of whatever they sell their property for.
Gordon MacCrae, 69, who owns a lodge at the Lossiemouth park, said the problems caused people to be pushed out of the park.
He estimates the number of caravans has fallen from 150 to 90 since the new owners took control.
“Some people have been leaving in tears.
“I hope the new manager can change things.
“But I think because it is an American company, they are not interested in the people in the park. They are just interested in the money that is it.”
Could the new manager turn things around?
The new manager at Lossiemouth Bay Holiday Park, Elaine Airth, went to Speyside High School and studied Tourism Management at Edinburgh Napier University.
She worked for Parkdean Resorts, the largest holiday park operator in the UK, for over 14 years.
Her last role involved managing four locations on the west coast of Scotland with a staff of 500.
A spokesman for Park Holidays UK said they contacted Mr Ross’s constituency office a few weeks ago about planning a meeting with the park’s general manager and have yet to hear back.
He added: “As part of our current investment programme, we are undertaking a number of new developments including landscaping of the grounds.
“These type of projects are normally carried out in the winter months when holiday home owners visit less frequently, and we apologise if any minor inconveniences have been caused.
“We can, however, give the assurance that the park will be returned to us by the contractors after completion in a first-class and visually attractive condition, consistent with the high standards for which Park Holidays UK is known.
“As ever, we welcome engagement with holiday home owners on any subject, and owners are always welcome to contact our park office to make an appointment.
“We have also recently confirmed to owners that this year’s pitch fee increase at Lossiemouth Holiday Park has been set at below the level of inflation”.
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