There’s no better place for enjoying the thrills and spills that a play facility brings than in a swimming pool. For families with children, a pool that can offer a unique and exhilarating swimming experience is sure to be at the top of their visitor lists.
Through smart design and a good selection of features, any holiday park can create an aquatic play space that guests will enjoy and want to return to on repeat visits. “Waterplay installations offer a range of benefits when compared to standard swimming or paddling pools,” explains Ernie Hemming of Ustigate Waterplay.
“Firstly, a waterplay installation uses water on demand, which is a more economical and cheaper solution as water will be consumed only when someone touches one of our activation bollards using considerably less water. Moreover, a waterplay installation provides countless hours of fun for all the family.”
Ustigate installed a bespoke splash zone at Dinosaur Adventure Park in Norfolk last year. The allocated splash area had previously been home to long-standing old wooden outdoor play equipment which had become outdated so the park owners took the decision to reinvest in the area and give it a new lease of life. The new splash zone takes inspiration from the famous Dippy the Dinosaur, the mascot and one of the Dinosaur Adventure Park’s most popular attractions in order to attract and retain more customers on site.
The splash zone was divided into three bays which have range of play items designed for each age group – toddler, teen and family. The focal point is the huge ‘supersplash’ elevation consisting of a bucket that tilts over, crashing onto a platform creating a mini-tidal wave soaking everyone in its spray zone. The fully PWTAG compliant filtration and recirculated water system ensures highest quality of water for children to play in.
EXPLORE OPTIONS
Ustigate’s Vortex sourced products offer the latest designs and features which are premium quality and competitively priced. The price of a typical splash pad depends mainly on three factors; size of the scheme, the type of water system that will be used – one use or re-circulating – and finally the selected water features. According to Ustigate, a typical single use system would usually cost between £50,000- £100,000 and a recirculating system costing £300,000- £500,000. 
“Ensure you have explored all possible options as water installations can be expensive and time consuming,” comments Ernie. “Remember that the cheapest option may not always be the right decision in the long term as a significant drop in quality may lead to additional repair or alteration costs in the future or even worse closing of the waterplay installation. “Even though initial setup costs for a high quality and robust water system may be excessive this will be cost effective in the long run as the water system will be able to stand the test of time and demands of excited children.”
MAIN ATTRACTION
Leyland-based World Leisure recently completed a £1.5m overhaul of the swimming pool facilities at Ribby Hall Village Holiday Park in Lancashire, in just 12 weeks. The holiday park’s pool is well-known for its water slides and is used by members and visitors alike. It was given a refurbishment eight years ago but bosses at the attraction decided the time was right for a complete revamp, with added facilities to maintain interest for visitors. The new pool features new slides including a 48m interactive play slide. Members and guests are able to climb a tower to the top of the slide, which then takes them out of the building and back inside again.
As they come down the slide, they can play an interactive touchpad game on the inside of the slide, with scores recorded once the ride is complete. Scores can be uploaded to social media platforms, with the top three scores displayed in the pool area. World Leisure also refurbished the splash pool and added an interactive aqua deck play structure, with tipping buckets and integral slides. A themed glass reinforced polyester (GRP) toddlers’ pool links into the splash pool, with a slide and steps to open the pools up to all ages.
World Leisure also installed a new sauna, steam room and feature showers, with all new filtration and controls. Mark Leech, senior manager of Ribby Hall Village, said: “It is important as a business to continually invest and improve the facilities we offer to our customers. We believe the new interactive slide and new splash pool features will be real talking points that will bring family visitors back again and again. “The project was a challenging one, because the pool forms the centre of the building and, as a result, new access ways had to be created for members and guests, so they could continue to use the other facilities while works were in progress.
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Company Contacts
CERTIKIN Tel. 01993 778855 www.certikin.co.uk
HIPPO LEISURE Tel. 01752 771740 www.hippoleisure.com
SCP UK Tel. 01268 273040 www.scpeurope.com
USTIGATE WATERPLAY Tel. 01322 424445 www.ustigatewaterplay.co.uk
WORLD LEISURE UK Tel. 01772 284883 www.worldleisureuk.co.uk
