Pontins Southport Holiday Park to close permanently

Britannia Hotels has closed down its Pontins Holiday Park at Southport.

A statement on the website now confirms local news reports.

It reads: “It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of Pontins Southport Holiday Park. After assessing the future viability of the park, we have come to the difficult decision to close our doors. Unfortunately, this means that Pontins Southport Holiday Park will be closing from Wednesday 3rd January 2024. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

The move follows the closures of parks at Prestatyn in North Wales and Camber Sands in Sussex, but the speed of the closure left organisers of a family weekender event in the dark over their planned Rave Kidz event in February.

They have now relocated the event to Norbreck Castle in Blackpool, also owned by Britannia, Rave Kidz admitted wasn’t ideal, telling customers: “The accommodation isn’t the best, it is cheap & basic so you may want to look elsewhere to stay in Blackpool.”

The organisers said: “All Pontins Weekend Ticket holders will have their tickets automatically transferred over (just show your current tickets upon entry) If you booked accommodation with Pontins they have said this will be refunded to you within a week.”

The Southport site is owned by Britannia Hotels group, which was censured in 2021 by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission for banning customers from Pontins with 40 common Irish surnames including Boyle, Doherty and Gallagher on a blacklist of ‘undesirable guests’ to prevent suspected traveller families from holidaying at its parks.

Owned by Alex Langsam, he has built up an estimated £248m fortune through Britannia Hotels, frequently referred to as the worst hotel chain in the country, but has found a lucrative series of government contracts to house asylum seekers.

Southport’s Conservative MP Damien Moore told the BBC that the closure of the site presented an opportunity for the area.

“Whilst the closure of Pontins is clearly concerning for the staff who I’m sure will be shocked, it provides a fantastic opportunity for a high-quality holiday accommodation provider to take over the site,” he said.

“Given its excellent location next to Ainsdale beach, with suitable investment, it could offer a substantial economic boost to Ainsdale and the wider Southport area.”