30 under threat at holiday village

THIRTY jobs could be lost with new that a Brixham holiday village is to close.

The Wall Park Holiday Village will shut permanently in January.

The skeleton crew of maintenance men, gardeners and office staff employed by Crofton Ltd have now entered a 30-day consultancy period with the management.

The sprawling holiday centre in Wall Park Road was bought by Crofton Ltd but was previously owned by holiday giants Pontins.

Poor bookings and the general economic downturn are said to be the reasons for the closure of the park which has been a holiday centre since the 1940s.

A summertime staff member from Brixham who did not want to be named said: "I worked there for three summers, the last one after it was taken over by Crofton Ltd."

She claimed hours were reduced, pay rates went down and the staffing system was 'disorganised'.

She added: "There were always rumours flying about that it was shutting down or that it would be given over to housing.

"We all worked hard this summer and the visitors were happy. We also had a really good crowd of language students from several countries who were fine."

Speaking on behalf of Crofton Ltd, David Rydell of public relations firm Bell Pottinger Group, said: "Crofton has now entered a statutory month's consultancy period with 30 staff .

"I cannot say what was in the notification. The outcome will only be determined after the consultation.

"The business is a single holiday centre owned by the Hemmings family interest. There are no others like it although the group still owns the Centry Touring Caravan Park next door, which is seasonal.

"The site will close during January and there are no plans at the moment for its future use."

The Hemmings group also controls a large chunk of top holiday destination Blackpool including the Blackpool Tower and pleasure beach, a British hotel chain and a string of successful racehorses.

Brixham Chamber of Commerce chairman Joe Cloutman said: "This is very bad news, not just for the existing staff but for seasonal employment in the summer. There will certainly be a knock-on effect in the visitor business next year."

Brixham Council planning chairman Brian Harland said he regretted the closure plan.