A WINDERMERE COUPLE providing green-themed holidays in the Lake District have been named as regional winners of the Federation of Small Businesses awards 2024.
Susan and Derek Dickson of Park Cliffe holiday park were chosen as the North West’s leading business in the “sustainability” category of the competition this spring.
It means that the family-run park will now go forward to the national finals of the FSB awards which will be held on 09 May at Blackpool’s iconic Winter Gardens.
Susan and Derek, who have owned Park Cliffe for the last 15 years, say they were delighted and surprised to have been chosen for the award from among hundreds of eligible NW businesses.
The couple, said the FSB judges, had shown beyond doubt their whole-hearted commitment to running an enterprising family business based on the principles of sustainability.
Set in 25 acres of countryside near the shores of Windermere, Park Cliffe provides holiday homes to rent and own, glamping facilities, plus camping and touring pitches.
“We have always taken our responsibility to the natural world very seriously,” said Susan who, with her husband, are helped in their business by their daughter Abi and son Jack.
“We’ve always regarded living and working in this beautiful landscape as a real privilege, and feel we need to do everything we can to protect its fragility.
“Our park tends to attract guests and holiday home buyers who share our love of the natural world, and the encouragement they provide has always been fantastic.
“For that reason, we would like to give credit to them and to our amazing park team for helping us achieve this award, and to spur us on to greater things!” said Susan.
Park Cliffe’s many environment-friendly initiatives include the opening last year of a solar array project generating green energy in the grounds of the park.
Representing a £200,000 investment, it features over 200 high-efficiency solar panels which will save 21 tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere each year.
Park Cliffe became one of the first businesses in Cumbria to ban single-use plastics, and its grounds play host to many wild flowers providing nectar for honey bees and butterflies.
The FSB accolade followed just a few months after the five-star park scooped two major prizes at the In-Cumbria Business Awards in January.
Susan and Derek took first place in both the Green/Ethical Business of the Year and the Best Family Business of the Year categories of the closely-fought contest.
There is more information about Park Cliffe on its website at www.parkcliffe.co.uk