Case Study - White Acres Holiday Park

White Acres Holiday Park is situated in 180 acres of Cornwall’s finest countryside, just six miles from the lovely beaches of Newquay. The park was established in the early 60s and has enjoyed the benefits of a piped supply since the late 1980s. It is made up of a total of 296 letting units – 246 caravans and 50 lodges - along with 40 touring pitches.

White Acres is a thoroughly modern holiday home park, equipped with facilities of the highest standard, and it is serviced entirely by a bulk supply provided by Calor. There is an indoor heated swimming pool, a sauna and a spa, all of which function on Calor gas. The park’s shop, night club, pub and pool room are heated using the Calor supply and the two on-site restaurants take advantage of the controllability of LPG when it comes to cooking.

White Acres’ manager, Allister Wilson, brought Calor to the site in November 1998. Allister had been using LPG supplied by Calor elsewhere and valued the excellent service and competitive prices provided by the company. “With plans in place to expand the park from the 100 units it consisted of in 1999 to nearly 300 units, we needed an LPG supplier that would provide the best service, not just at the time, but for the long term,” said Allister. “Having worked with Calor myself for thirty years, it was the only choice for White Acres.”

Calor and White Acres have worked together over the last five winters to complete the expansion of the piped supply. Calor was able to advise White Acres on the feasibility of a piped supply covering such a large number of units and has supported the park throughout, particularly in terms of the technical advice provided. “The service provided by Calor over the last five years has been excellent. We are looking forward to continuing the successful relationship with another 3-4 year expansion plan on the way,” added Allister.

As was the case with White Acres, a concern of most park owners considering a piped supply is that of cost: the installation is a significant investment. However, Calor can be flexible in its approach, with park owners able to undertake many of the preparations themselves. These tasks often include civil engineering work such as trench digging, concrete base laying for bulk tanks or excavation work if an underground bulk tank is chosen.

Another concern can be the perceived disruption to the park caused by the work. However, specialist contractors can call on modern machinery such as the ‘mole’ to keep disruption to a minimum. The mole tunnels through the earth, leaving little trace of disturbance to the ground above and the gas pipe is then fed through the tunnel that the mole has created, avoiding the larger scale disruption caused by traditional trench digging methods. Effective project management of the work also means that the installation can be completed with no disturbance during peak periods. The work at White Acres was completed entirely during the winter months according to an agreed timescale.

A piped supply of LPG consists simply of a centrally stored gas supply in a bulk tank or number of tanks situated in a screened area or underground, with pipework running to each unit. Calor will carry out all inspections and any necessary maintenance related to the bulk tank as well as routine checks. With a flexible approach to piped supply installations and industry-leading technical knowledge and service commitment, Calor makes the choice to go with a piped supply as simple and hassle free as possible.