Basking in the biggest heatwave for years, record high temperatures have resulted in a much-welcomed spike in sales for the UK pool and spa sectors heralding the return of the feel good factor to the UK water leisure economy.
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A delay in the publication of revisions to Part L of the Building Regulations – which the government said it would publish in May – could put back the implementation of the changes by up to six months.
Aspects Pools launched its grand Trees 4 CO2 in the Spring, promising to plant one tree for every product purchased on its leading online swimming pool equipment store.
After 36 years of dedicated service, Certikin’s Chairman, Patrick Thorpe, is retiring from the business. The son of a Kentish coal miner, Patrick, 64, has been a key fi gure in steering Certikin’s growth from a modest, though signifi cant, UK distributor to a major part of Fluidra, one of the world’s largest multi-national companies. Patrick joined Certikin in 1972 as Financial Controller when it was owned by Brian Stannah, of Stannah stair lift fame and Bob Kent who was Managing Director.
The pool industry has bid a sad farewell to Molly Alcock, former secretary of the Institute of Swimming Pool Engineers, who died at the end of May.
It has been ten years since The Spa at Celtic Haven in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, first opened. The Spa at Celtic Haven forms part of a charming, cliff-top cottage resort on the outskirts of Tenby. Celtic Haven’s collection of 12th Century Cottages along with The Spa, Waves cliff-top bar and restaurant and their Golf & Leisure Club make it an ideal destination for spa breaks in Wales.
The Vale Resort in Hensol, south Wales, has scooped a top industry award for its leisure division at the annual 59 Club Service Excellence Awards. The Vale’s leisure offering includes a full range of gym facilities, squash and tennis courts, a 20m swimming pool as well as more than 50 led fitness classes per week
With names like Master Blaster, Lagoona Bay and Volcano Springs, the Cariba Creek water park at the Alton Tower’s Splash Landings Hotel is still conjuring up as much aquatic excitement as it was when it first switched on the water features ten years ago. On the actual tenth birthday this month, the venue will be staging a suitably spectacular birthday celebration with pool side competitions, a steel band and lots of waterpark giveaways.
Butlin’s has been a part of the British holiday scene for more than 70 years and its pools are a central feature of each resort. But what have they to offer the 21st century holidaymaker? Jan Hurst reports…
Transforming the British holiday experience, the vision of Butlin’s founder, Billy Butlin’s, back in the 1930s, was to provide affordable, fun holidays for British families. The mission statement stays the same but today’s facilities, with multi-million water leisure investments are a world away from the chalet-style accommodation of the original Butlins’ camps.
Lidos have a special meaning for those of us of a certain age. They evoke childhood memories of style and glamour with outdoor swimming, ice creams by the pool and art deco buildings, often gleaming white. But the development of modern indoor pools saw a great number of these outdoor pleasure palaces disappear as they fell into disrepair and failed to compete with modern local sports facilities.
