Sandy Balls Holiday Centre is celebrating a major feather in its environmental cap a David Bellamy Conservation Award of Special Distinction to go with its 13th Gold Award.
The stunning New Forest holiday centre received the special award after being nominated by the scheme assessors as being one of only a handful in the country which have demonstrated that their environmental work is truly innovative.
One of the centre’s underpinning values is the custodianship of its 120 acres for generations to come – focusing on sustainability of operations and conservation of the rich natural environment which makes it a unique destination.
“Wow! What a great, glowing, golden report”, were the words of Professor Bellamy.
Scheme assessor John Durnell’s report on the Fordingbridge-based centre said: “I have assessed a number of parks which quite justifiably qualify for a Gold award. However, the level of commitment to reducing its impact on the environment displayed by Sandy Balls is far beyond that shown by any other park. The entire organisation appears to not only understand its obligations but all those I spoke to took genuine pride in their achievements.
“The park exhibits a very high degree of social responsibility, often exceeding the requirements of the local planning authority in order to minimise the impact on its neighbours. Locally produced products can be found throughout its stores restaurant menus in the restaurant and the park has started growing a large amount of its own vegetables.”
One recent guest wrote: ‘This is one of the best parks in the New Forest, if not the best! We have been coming for over 20 years. We have seen robins, squirrels, blackbirds, deer, buzzards, rooks, crows, swallows and swifts.’ Another described the pleasure of discovering a roosting pair of tawny owls.
The team’s efforts in the last 12 months alone have included the introduction of a host of energy saving measures in its new buildings – the Welcome Building is home to a unique, living, breathing Sedum roof and its new lodges use cutting-edge water-saving taps and showers – all of which help towards reducing the centre’s carbon footprint.
With the support of the Forestry Commission there is also a 30-year plan in place to help return Sandy Balls wood to its native state. Its Bistro and Woodside Inn also embrace the concept of thinking globally and acting locally with the extensive use of locally-sourced products.
It was more than a decade ago that Professor Bellamy began to look at the conservation work being carried out by Britain’s holiday parks and set up the awards. The renowned botanist and author discovered that it wasn’t just humans who were enjoying the facilities – plant species and bird life were also flourishing thanks to the good environmental practices being employed.
Commented Sandy Balls marketing and sales director Tracey Farmer: “We are obviously delighted with such a great report by the assessor and the entire team will be thrilled that their hard work towards lessening our impact on the environment has been rewarded. Balancing the demands of a thriving company and maintaining our naturally beautiful surroundings for generations to come is at the centre of what we do.”
This latest award has been added to Sandy Balls’ already impressive collection of accolades including the English Tourism 5-Star Award, The Rose Award, Tourism ExSEllence Award and the Green Tourism Gold Award.
