Parkdean Resorts - owners of Cayton Bay caravan park - praised for its response to coronavirus

One of the UK’s largest holiday park operator, which invested £80 million at its venues in this year, brought in a robust set of processes and procedures to ensure the continued safety of employees, holidaymakers and local communities.

Parkdean Resorts is a long-term investor in North Yorkshire, directly employing 450 people in the region and supporting hundreds more in the local supply chain. Each park provides a customer base for numerous businesses including shops, pubs, restaurants, cafes and visitor attractions.

Its centres include Cayton Bay, Mill Lane, Cayton.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said: “After many months of great uncertainty and stress, it has been wonderful to see families taking a well-deserved staycation break that is safe, secure and hassle-free and also supports the local economy in North Yorkshire.

“We believe that North Yorkshire’s visitor economy will be a key driver in the UK’s economic recovery, providing much-needed employment and investment opportunities as part of post-lockdown growth.

“We congratulate Parkdean Resorts for its exceptionally impressive response to COVID-19 and for its continued commitment to North Yorkshire’s world-leading tourism brand and multi-billion pound economy.”

North Yorkshire County Council and the City of York Council have agreed a devolution deal to take control of funds and powers from central government to accelerate the recovery from the pandemic and create new growth opportunities for businesses.

They have approved plans to invest £540m in fibre connectivity, £390m in transport links, £290m in market town centres, £215m in the bio-economy, £95m on housing, £50m on green energy and £10m in skills across the county over the coming years.

Barrie Robinson, operations director at Parkdean Resorts, said: “We have made an extraordinary investment in making our sites as secure as possible for the continued safety of our employees, holidaymakers and local communities.

“Most people who work with us live within five miles of our sites and most people who visit us live within 50 miles of our sites so local and regional prosperity is very important to us.

“As a long-term investor in North Yorkshire and one of the biggest investors in the UK tourism industry, a single unitary council for North Yorkshire could be helpful because it will assist in unlocking new investment in jobs and infrastructure vital to the recovery and renewal of the county's tourism industry.”

Parkdean Resorts operates a strict set of Covid -19 processes and procedures including on-site testing, in-depth cleaning and self-sufficient facilities on site. Caravans are self-contained and self-catered and have no shared doors or communal areas with a distance of at least five metres between all accommodation.