by From the road, only the Pontins in Camber Sands are visible and the ulking purple reception building and locked gate. Its sudden closure this week – along with fellow resort Prestatyn in North Wales – marks the end of an era for the seaside holiday park which opened its doors in 1968 and had its heyday in the decade after that.
In 2011, Pontins was saved from administration by the current owners of Britannia Hotels, but in recent years reviews of Camber Sands have sometimes been less than kind – see Booking.com: “Think POW camps in old movies”, and TripAdvisor: ” Here’s worst caravan we have stayed in and we will never return.”
Despite many positive reviews too (especially about the Pontins team), it’s clear that holidaymakers expected better from this popular holiday park.
Camber itself is a small village situated along the stunning beach of Camber Sands just over the border from Kent, in East Sussex. Coming in from the east, the first sight of Camber is lines of static white caravans set behind the sea defenses – Parkdean Resorts caravans and lodges, which, along with Pontins, dominate the village’s footprint. In the summer, visitors are outnumbered 250 to 1 (in 2020, Rother District Council reported up to 25,000 people going to Camber Sands every day) and tourism businesses rely on this seasonal income (not to mention parking for people the places) .
On a cold, sunny day in December, many of Camber’s businesses are closed and the vast sandy beach and its car parks are crowded with dog walkers. In the cafes and businesses that are open, rumors and speculation abound about what will happen at the Pontins site. From redevelopment and reopening, to re-certification, new homes, or even an asylum seeker detention center, everyone has an opinion.
In the well-heeled cobbled lanes of nearby Rye, there is much less chatter about the sudden closure of Pontins, although at the Quayside Heritage Center (ryeheritage.co.uk), volunteers Steve and Lee worry about the knock-on effect. . Holidaymakers often come to Rye to visit a cafe, or for fish and chips, and on a rainy day spend time in the center’s penny arcade and the Model Town light and sound show.
Steve Pontins fondest memories are of massive work events with bands like Showaddywaddy and Boney M, and the more recent Rockabilly Rave weekends, when Sundays would bring vintage American cars into town (no update yet on whether the 26).th Annual Rockabilly Rave will continue in 2024 – or wherever it might be hosted).
Lee lives in Camber and says that “people got used to Pontins being there; They liked to beat him, but it feels like ‘the devil knows better’”. Her biggest concern about the closure is that it will be turned into a migrant center (which the Home Office strongly denies).
Lee tells me, “It’s not practical, there are just over a thousand residents in Camber, and there was talk at one time [before Pontins signed their most recent lease] of more than 2,000 migrants. Imagine them wandering around, with nothing to do.” She points out that there is no infrastructure of schools, doctors or public transport, and she says that residents are concerned about what a migrant center would mean for the village, and about house prices.
“I don’t know everything; no one is coming out and saying what the plan really is.”
Back in Camber at the Marina Cafe on the beach, which has been open all year round and has been there since 1985, cafe worker Louise is hoping someone will take on the holiday park and put some money into it. She tells me: “I know it’s not the best place, but at least people can afford to go. Some people hate it, but others come back every year because it’s decent.” She points out that Pontins staff only got two hours’ notice of the closure (and some heard about it on social media), and that it was pretty rough to let everyone go just before Christmas: “It’s a holiday village this, so where are people going. to get work?”
By all accounts, Rother District Council, which owns the freehold of the site, was also surprised by the sudden announcement. A spokesman said: “Rothera District Council was shocked to learn that Pontins in Camber, a popular summer destination for thousands of families, has closed. As the freeholder of the site, we have had no news from Pontins or their parent company Britannia Hotels regarding the closure of the site, its duration or what they intend for the site in the long term. Our sympathies go out to those who may lose their employment at this time of year, and we are disappointed for customers whose holiday plans have been disrupted.”
So what about the people who still want to stay in Camber on holiday? Pontins was pretty self-sufficient as far as amenities and entertainment went, and after it closed, visitors won’t find much to do (part of the village’s appeal, for many). Families love the beach and the big whacking dunes, and the Kitesurf Center (thekitesurfcentre.com), run by Rupert and his brothers, is the place for kite buggies, kite boarding, hydrofoils, stand up paddleboarding and windsurfing. Rupert says they’ve rarely seen customers from Pontins – maybe an occasional stag – so the closure shouldn’t have a big impact on business, although he expects an impact on the village: “some good, some bad “.
Finally, just meters from the entrance to Pontins, but at the other end of the spectrum in terms of holiday accommodation, is The Gallivant (thegallivant.co.uk), an adults-only wellness retreat aimed squarely at the city crowd who ask for good food. , good wine, relaxation and refreshment. Not a blue coat in sight, and certainly not a destination for a sporting tour (Pontins bread and butter weekend events).
It’s clear that a big change is happening in Camber, but for those hoping for a cheap family holiday at sea in Britain, their options are more limited.
