Butlins Bognor Regis New Swimming Pool Plans

Once known for its grim 1950s chalets, the UK chain is pouring millions into waterparks and hoping to wipe away decades of snobbery

For decades it was famous for contests to find the knobbliest knees and most glamorous grandmothers. But in recent years visitors to Britain’s best-known holiday camps have been more likely to drink champagne and luxuriate in spas. (The grannies were dispatched long ago, along with fluorescent yellow plastic palm trees.)

Now, as it eyes a potential market among the growing numbers of families wanting to holiday in the UK as a result of a weak pound, Butlin’s is preparing to make the biggest investment in its 83-year history and position itself as a rival to upmarket family holiday giant Center Parcs.

Best Butlins Resorts 2023

Its Bognor Regis resort – like all the other Butlin’s destinations, its status has been upgraded from a mere “camp” – is to open a £40m pool complex next month featuring 6, 300 square metres of waves and waterslides. “This isn’t something you do every day, ” said Jon Hendry-Pickup, Butlin’s new managing director and the former boss of the Italian restaurant chain Prezzo.

Designers approached parenting website Mumsnet, he said, for a list of “must-have” family features, from underfloor heating in the changing rooms and special areas for toddlers to outdoor gardens and eco lighting. The result, the company hopes, will cement a “reputational reboot” that has seen it fight off what Hendry-Pickup calls misconceptions about Butlin’s traditionally cheap and cheerful image.

Xanna Chown, editor at a London-based publisher and mother of two, would agree. She said her young children loved their Bognor Regis holiday so much that the family went back for Christmas. “It’s a revelation, ” she said. “You go there a bit trepidatious. But it’s really lovely – just like going to a nice beauty salon.”

Splash At Butlins Bognor Regis

Others admit that the snobbery that has dogged Butlin’s for decades refuses to go away. “When Felicity’s talking about her half-term skiing trip and so-and-so has been to the Bahamas, you just don’t want to throw it in there, ‘Well, I went to Butlin’s’, ” said Antonia McCaffrey from Thames Ditton in Surrey. Her family first visited more than a decade ago but left a day early because it felt “like staying in an army barracks”. But when they returned years later the place was transformed and they enjoyed it, she said, even though “it still felt a bit like being in a noisy playgroup”.

Hendry-Pickup said that customers would make up their own minds when they saw the resorts in Skegness, Bognor and Minehead, which have collectively welcomed more than a million guests in the past year.

Some things haven’t changed. The Redcoats are still there, and so too are the 80s tribute bands and slot machines for the children. But millions of pounds has been invested in building green play areas and spruced-up accommodation.

Swimming Pool Demolition Begins As Butlin's Plans For Significant Changes At Bognor Regis Resort

And while £883 for an Easter break for a family of four isn’t as cheap as camping, it can compare favourably with a week at the Spanish seaside.

He said he didn’t want to change the core customers of a brand originally created as an affordable break for the working class.

But he added that Billy Butlin, who created the holiday camps in 1936 and turned them into a multimillion-pound industry, never designed them to be “cheap holidays”. What he wanted was for Butlin’s to be “accessible for everyone”, he said.

Butlins Bognor Regis

But one thing that definitely won’t be coming back, according to Hendry-Pickup – knobbly knees contests: “That was something that happened years and years ago.”Butlin's has pulled out all the stops with a new swimming pool for its Bognor Regis resort and kids will love it

The holiday firm has invested £40million into the swimming pool, which can hold up to almost 1, 000 guests and will also include a wave pool, a special area for toddlers and plenty of seaside and fairground-themed rides.

Now the firm has offered a first look at just what families can expect by releasing an artist's impressions of the upcoming complex, which is due to open in April 2019.

Butlin's Bognor Regis

It's part of a wider investment plan for the firm, which has also invested £6million in upgrading and refurbishing all of its accommodation across resorts in Bognor Regis, Minehead and Skegness, in time for the February half term holiday season.

There'll be plenty of entertainment on offer too, with headliners for 2019 including Stephen Mulhern, Britain’s Got Talent winners Diversity, motorcycle daredevils Nitro Circus, children’s TV favourite Justin Fletcher plus the stars of Milkshake Live.

The holiday firm is still going strong, boasting a post 4 per cent growth in summer holiday bookings compared to a year ago.

Butlin's Invests In Brexit Staycations

Jon Hendry-Pickup, Butlin’s Managing Director, said: The demand for a Butlin’s break in 2019 is very encouraging and we feel it shows that families want lots to keep them entertained day and night, quality accommodation and delicious food options.

I fully appreciate why concerns over foreign travel post-Brexit, delays that holidaymakers encountered at airports and ports last year, and even the very recent issues with flight problems due to drones mean that UK families are looking for a more convenient, hassle-free break. We’re here to help with that mission.

A HERO BEFORE FAME: Paul O'Grady's fight for the underdog on front line - the sad, terrifying and hilarious encounters as council worker before he became star in his own wordsPaul O'Grady

Butlins Splash, Bognor Regis

'I NO LONGER HAVE A BROTHER...' This Morning star Phillip Schofield issues EXTRAORDINARY statement after sibling found guilty of sexually abusing teen boyPhillip SchofieldButlins has been a firm family favourite for holidaymakers since opening its first resort in 1936. At the heart of their facilities are the swimming pools, which have always been one of the biggest draws for parents and children alike. However, at over 30 years old their Bognor Regis site needed modernisation.

In 2017, work started on-site to bring the ambitious plans for the new facility to life, and at 6300m2 it was 30% larger than its predecessor. The new state-of-the-art swimming pool complex was based upon a fun, nostalgic, brightly coloured theme and included several exciting features such as flume rides, an outdoor rapid ride, wave pool and lido. Families of all sizes and ages were at the heart of the new development, with large changing facilities, a toddler play zone with slides, interactive water features and rides suitable for a large range of ages and abilities.

The project Architect was PWP Architects, Kier was the main contractor and Dyson Briggs was the sub-contract tiling specialist. Looking for solutions for substrate preparation and tile fixing, was contacted due to their expertise in pool and wet leisure installations. Specifically, ’s reputation for manufacturing high-performance products and supplying world-class projects such as the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games and Tollcross International Swimming Centre for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Butlin's To Liven Up Seafront

’s system for concrete pool shells is tried and tested to perform in this challenging environment. Many of its products are rapid drying to assist with project timings by speeding up the installation process.

Provided continued support throughout the entirety of the project, with the Business Development Team always on-hand to provide specification advice, answer questions and perform site visits.

Commenting on ’s involvement in the project, Kier said, “We needed an experienced and reliable supplier for a bespoke family waterpark for a popular holiday resort, which required 2.4m tiles in total. helped in the very early stages of the project, supplying excellent screed and adhesive products for all the tiled areas. With numerous pools and water rides, this complex project had varying curves and differing levels, where provided specific products for these areas. They provided excellent support on-site, particularly to the tile-laying company, visiting numerous times throughout the project. With their help, the waterpark successfully opened for the Client’s completion date – Spring 2019, ready for the Easter holidays.”

Butlin's New £40 Million Swimming Pool Opens At Bognor

UK is a system solution provider of high-performance speciality building materials and the brand choice for installers and distributors throughout the construction industry. To find out more about products, visit www..