SWANAGE RESIDENTS have celebrated the opening of a new convenience store and coffee shop by their town’s Ulwell Holiday Park, bringing a much-needed new facility to the area.
The shop was officially declared open by Swanage’s mayor, Chris Tomes, who welcomed the initiative taken by the family-run park based in the north of the seaside resort.
It means that people living in the area will once again have access to essential groceries and other provisions after the much-lamented closure of Swanage’s previous store three years ago.
The new well-stocked Spar shop is situated next to the reception area at Ulwell Holiday Park, and as a bonus is also providing an artisan coffee shop serving freshly-baked pastries.
But easier shopping and craft coffee aren’t the only benefits enjoyed by local residents, thanks to the presence of the five-star holiday park within their community.
That because Ulwell Holiday Park also owns the Village Inn, a popular meeting and socialising venue where fresh local produce is a main focus of the pub’s menu.
The inn also has a recently opened beer garden in peaceful natural surroundings, including tables tucked away in the woodland where many native trees have been planted.
The Village Inn’s ever-growing popularity amongst Swanage residents and holiday guests prompted the park to make a major investment in extending its kitchens earlier this year.
The role played by Ullwell Holiday Park in engaging with its neighbours played a big part in its success in the recent Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) annual awards.
The park was named among the top three firms in the Family Business Award category of the competition within the South & Thames Valley region.
Ullwell Holiday Park, which sits under the Purbeck Hills, provides pitches for touring caravans, motorhomes and tents as well as luxury holiday caravans both to rent and to own.
Guest facilities at the park include an indoor pool popular with both youngsters and grown-ups, an adventure play park, sports field, and enclosed dog exercise meadow.
Ulwell Holiday Park has been owned by the Orchard and Scadden families for over 40 years, and MD Kevin Orchard said the business has always been regarded as a part of the community:
“We reach out as much as possible to local people, for example by providing swimming lessons and children’s swimming parties at our pool,” he said.
“We also sustain employment and training for people in the area, and many nearby businesses benefit from the spending of our guests and holiday caravan owners.
“Providing a convenience store with a wide selection of competitively priced produce was a logical step for us, and we are delighted that it has been so warmly welcomed.
“We are always looking to improve and develop the park, and have recently refurbishing our shower blocks and added glamping pods which have proved really popular.
“By doing so, I hope we can carry on increasing visitor numbers each year because this will enable us to continue sharing our success with our community,” added Kevin.
There is more information about the park, an active member of the Holiday and Residential Parks Association (HARPA), on its website at www.ulwellholidaypark.co.uk
