The expansion will create scores of new permanent and seasonal jobs as well as aspirational holiday destination
How Skirlington Coast will be transformed
More than 120 jobs are set to be created at a popular East Yorkshire holiday park which is poised to undergo a £20m transformation with funfair attractions, new pools, cabanas and pop-up entertainment. Unity Holidays snapped up Skirlington Coast Yorkshire last year, immediately setting about investing in its dining and leisure facilities, including the launch of a new pavilion theatre, pub and restaurant.
Last month we revealed how its new owners are now set to make the most significant investment in the park’s history, through the creation of a multi-million pound entertainment area at the park, which is based between Hornsea and Bridlington. Now the company’s CEO Dermot King has revealed all the details on the exciting plans set to come at the popular park.
Proposals and designs have been submitted to council planners by Legacy Leisure Group, the parent firm of Unity Holidays. Subject to planning approvals, they stand to create more than 120 permanent jobs as well as 200 seasonal roles, while also creating an aspirational destination.
New images and a fly-through video have now been released, showing the depth of investment set to come from Unity Holidays, breathing new life into the park, which has space for 680 holiday caravans, and up to 400 tented and touring pitches. They form part of wider plans to invest around £20m into Skirlington Coast Yorkshire, as well as a multimillion-pound sum into the company’s most recent acquisition, Seven Lakes Country Park near Scunthorpe in East Lincolnshire, cementing the firm’s commitment to boosting the region’s staycation scene.
Dermot King said: “Our attraction to the region is because we think we there’s a gap in the market for that region. The businesses in that area and under-invested and we see an opportunity where we can invest and develop into what were well-run family businesses.
“The opportunity is particularly engaged around the seaside proposition. When you research the British seaside proposition it’s extraordinary how mums – the ones who make all the family decisions and book the holidays– describe their perfect getaway as a traditional seaside holiday, but that’s what their grandparents experienced. Wouldn’t it be great if their children could access something similar?
“So we will have boardwalks, hints to seaside fairgrounds. We will have Helter Skelters and Wurlitzers, entertainment venues and all the rest of the fish and chips, candy floss and pop-up entertainment you expect from a traditional seaside town.
“More importantly we’re not recreating it, we’re reinventing it, through the Festival Gardens concept – a landscape walkway which will have loads of pop-up entertainment and activities. You’ve got to bring to bring a modern spin to all of this, so there’ll be a suite of sports and leisure activities that you can access through the pavilion, which we are recreating.
“It will be a boardwalk type of walkway from which you access things like our outdoor swim pools, splash play areas, golf experiences, archery experiences, and other sports including football and padel courts. We’re extending the indoor pool, linking it to an outdoor pool. There will be loungers and even cabanas, all in a deck that goes around the outdoor pool. So while the kids are playing, mum can relax.”
The company has already ploughed a significant sum into the park, and between £10m and £15m is set to be spent in the new plans. Over a two year period Dermot estimates around £20m will be invested in all. Subject to planning being approved, there are hopes it will be completed by April next year, ready for the 2026 summer holidays.
He added: “I can’t imagine there are other people investing this sort of money in the region, We’ve got a lot that’s going to be subject to planning, but these are things that planners get excited about, so fingers crossed, it’ll be spades in the ground soon.
“Our only barrier is really getting the permissions to start working, we are reinventing a holiday proposition for the region, an exciting venture for the region, and I think the Unity brand will be well regarded as a significant contributor to local economy.”
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