Parkdean Resorts, the UK’s largest holiday park operator, has announced a major programme of community and environmental initiatives to be delivered in Croyde in 2023, in partnership with the Croyde Area Residents Association (CARA).
Through a match-funding agreement with CARA, Parkdean Resorts, which owns Ruda Holiday Park and Croyde Beach, has approved grants totalling more than £20,000 for a number of projects, while the Ruda team will also spearhead key conservation projects which will make a meaningful difference to the local community and its environment.
Croyde Surf Life Saving Club
The local community was invited to apply for grants last year, and the first projects chosen by CARA include the development of a new clubhouse for the Croyde Surf Life Saving Club, the purchase of an adaptive surfboard, and the creation of the beach’s first ever accessible Changing Places facility. An additional grant went towards village green works, which took place last year.
Work on the Clubhouse will be completed by the autumn, while the surfboard and the changing facility are expected to be fully implemented by March, delivering a major boost to the Croyde Beach, which is fast becoming the go-to place for Adaptive Surfing in England. Partly as a result of the new developments, Croyde Beach will host the 2023 English Adaptive Surfing Open, on 7th and 8th September, with adaptive surfers from all over the world taking part in the event.
Ben Byrom, Chair of the Croyde Surf Life Saving Club, said: “Croyde Surf Life Saving Club has been a major hub in the community for the past 60 years, with many Coastguards, RNLI beach lifeguards, Wave Project instructors, and lead members of Chill having completed Surf Lifesaver award training with us. We are grateful for our partnership and continued work with Holly and the team at Ruda, and we are delighted to continue working with people who have the same passion as us for keeping Croyde beach a fun, clean and safe holiday destination.”
Huge difference to the local community
Claire Ward, Assistant General Manager, Ruda Holiday Park, said: “This funding is going to make a huge difference to the local community in Croyde, and we’re delighted that the beach will be even more accessible thanks to the adaptive surfboard and accessible Changing Places facility. We’re committed to ensuring Croyde Beach is accessible and welcoming for everyone, and we’re thrilled to be working with CARA to introduce these brilliant initiatives.”
Phil Hall, Chair of Croyde Area Residents Association, said: “The CARA AONB Fund was set up to protect or enhance the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and people’s enjoyment of it. These grants will all help to deliver important projects for our community, and we’re grateful for the ongoing support of the team at Ruda Holiday Park to match our funding. The area of outstanding natural beauty comprises a number of elements; natural landscape, seascape, marine and terrestrial environments, habitats and heritage, and we hope to continue our work with the park to deliver more projects in the future.”
Positive environmental impact on nature
These new initiatives form part of Parkdean Resorts’ ongoing work to help improve the lives of those in the local Croyde community, and to create a positive environmental impact on nature. Croyde Beach has recently achieved an Excellent water quality ranking, which is the highest, cleanest water quality that can be awarded by the Environment Agency, meaning the water is clean and safe for beach-goers. The beach is now in the process of applying for Blue Flag status – a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education that a beach meets its high environmental, educational, safety and accessibility standards.
A project to restore the sand dunes behind Croyde Beach, led by Holly, has also been approved by Natural England. These sand dunes, which are a vital part of the ecology of coastal habitat, with many rare plants and animals, have been worn down over time with people walking through them and dune bodyboarding. The project will restore the lost marram grass which will begin to build back the sand, in time restoring the lost habitat, with fencing and signs installed to protect the area and allow the sand dunes to grow.
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