Hemsby Pontins set to close

THE holiday industry in the Great Yarmouth area has suffered a major blow with the announcement of the closure of the Pontins Holiday Centre at Hemsby this month.

THE holiday industry in the Great Yarmouth area has suffered a major blow with the announcement of the closure of the Pontins Holiday Centre at Hemsby this month.

Falling bookings and increasing costs have resulted in the decision to close the Hemsby centre, taken by Ocean Parcs, the company that owns Pontins.

Staff were gathered together this morning to be told about the closure and redundancies by a representative from head office. They were told they had 48 hours to clear desks.

A source linked to the camp said the news was “out of the blue” and some staff were in tears.

The decision will affect 55 jobs at the site, which can accommodate 2,000 holidaymakers. During the war, the centre was used to billet soldiers before they went to fight overseas.

A Pontins spokeswoman said: “We acquired the holiday centre on a short-term lease while we reviewed its future potential and have concluded that it is limited without significant investment, which is not feasible within the remaining lease term. This, combined with declining books and escalating costs, has resulted in the decision to close immediately as it is not viable to trade the centre for the remaining nine months of the lease.”

Holidaymakers who have already made bookings at the Hemsby site are being offered the chance to transfer their booking to one of the other six remaining Pontins centres, or have a full refund.

The firm has no plans to shut any of its other sites.