A FAMILY-RUN PARKS GROUP in North Yorkshire is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this summer – and marking the event with news of a new £1 million investment.
York House Leisure, based near Thirsk, plans to spread the spending across its portfolio of holiday parks, residential parks and visitor attractions in the county.
The company’s diamond year comes six decades after Neil Brierley – a dentist by profession – and his wife Patricia bought a plot of land on the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland.
The venture was a success, and five years later the couple decided to return to England, and to focus their energies on developing new park businesses.
Neil, who continued practising as a dentist until the mid-1990s, and Patricia made their first acquisition that of York House Holiday Park in the village of Balk.
Over the coming years they invested much time and energy into creating family retreats for visitors to North Yorkshire, winning a large and loyal customer base.
Today the business comprises three award-winning holiday parks, two residential parks for people in retirement, and a hugely popular visitor attraction: Monk Park Farm near Thirsk.
At the helm of the group are brothers Phil and Tim Brierley – plus their sister Heather working part-time – who say they are shaping an exciting and ambitious future for York House Leisure.
The company currently employs around 50 full and part-time staff, largely recruited from within the county and to whom the business provides training and career opportunities.
According to Phil, York House Leisure today draws over 80,000 holiday visitors annually, and their spending in the area supports many other local businesses and the jobs they provide.
There are also around 200 people living in the park homes across the company’s residential parks, said Phil, all enjoying a relaxed retirement lifestyle in tranquil landscaped surroundings.
The number is set to increase soon following a new development at Gateforth Park in Selby.
The semi-sheltered environments and friendly, mutually supportive communities created on residential parks, he adds, help people maintain their independence into later life.
Part of the new £1 million investment, said Phil, is being focused on Monk Park Farm which York House Leisure rescued from likely closure when it was put up for sale four years ago.
The 84-acre family attraction – which includes farm-themed fun activities – draws over 80,000 visitors each year, and now boasts a new animal barn enjoyed equally by children and grown-ups.
“The determination to maintain the highest quality standards is a hallmark of the YHL portfolio,” said Phil.
“We are immensely proud of the business our parents pioneered, and work hard to keep alive their philosophy of always putting customers first and foremost.
“York House Leisure is really all about making people happy and getting the most from their lives, be it children and families on holiday or those slowing down after a lifetime’s work.
“Our aim is to continue raising the quality bar by constant reinvestment in our parks and providing the best experience possible for everyone with the help of our amazing teams,” he added.
There is more information about York House Leisure at www.yhlparks.co.uk.