Park Manager Lee
Where do I start? Well, firstly I’d like to say – Hi to you all, my name is Lee.
I am Head of Grounds here at Burton Constable Holiday Park – I am primarily responsible for the grounds and infrastructure, maintaining the presentation of our wonderful Park.
A couple of months ago I took on the role of Park Manager – in addition to being Head of Grounds, I am resident on the Park and am responsible for ensuring that things on the Park go smoothly overnight whilst the General Manager is away.
I started at the Park approximately eight years ago as one of the lads on the Grounds team; I was promoted to Head of Grounds after three years or so – where does the time go?
The Past
Over the last three years, I have worked very closely with Rodrica and the Trustees on many issues overlapping with my main role as Head of Grounds. Predominantly this has been to take the grounds and Park back to their origins, rediscovering the original design and natural beauty of the Park.
Those years came with many challenges. With Rodrica at the helm, we tackled these as they presented themselves whilst maintaining the course set; we worked closely with our local Council to ensure we retained our Holiday Park Licence and were not shut down.
The Present
So here we are now, 2023 – where my job title has changed as has my remit. I have now been promoted to Park Manager, a title I feel honoured to have.
In addition to deputising for Bryne overnight, my new role allows me to be more involved with strategic and long-term projects on the Park. Alongside Rodrica, Jack, and Bryne, we are making plans to enhance the Park experience for the present and the future. This is a combination of conserving what we have and developing new ideas.
An example of building on our foundations is the David Bellamy Award, in which we have been awarded the highest accolade for 2023. We are often told our Park is the flagship example for other holiday parks to aspire to.
The Future – The Lakes
We are putting together proposals for work to improve the North & South Lakes. We are looking to improve the lakes aesthetically, ensure lake & fish health, maintain the historic landscape, and work in line with restrictions and regulations.
Alongside the challenges of working within various bodies’ regulations, is the difficulty presented by rising temperatures over the years. Caused in part by climate change, which has caused an increase in aquatic weeds and algae.
Fishing & Stocks
Once we are satisfied that the lakes are suitable for fish to live in and are in a fishable condition, we are hoping to re-stock them in the near future. But again, this comes with ever-increasing pressure with managing the silt levels, changes in climate and biomass in the lake, and historic landscape – and controlling predators and predation. This will be a lengthy process which could require significant investment.
Our core services are holiday home ownership and holidays. Fishing at the lakes is an additional service which we have been pleased to offer for years in our limited way. We are not and cannot be a commercial fishing business; you can only imagine what measures are taken on commercial fishing Lakes to reduce fish mortality from predators (some of which are not pleasant to see!). We are limited by the constraints of various natural and heritage bodies who have strict controls on the lake.
Re-stocking in the near future could have some unintended consequences. We need to know the current stock and numbers that we currently have in the Lakes, and time and planning to make sure we get it right.
We are currently working with our local Environment Agency, a Fisheries technical officer, along with other professionals to develop a plan going forward. Our primary responsibility is to improve the lake’s health, and then we are going to look at the fishing and other ideas to enhance the use of the Lakes.
If you would like to be a part of the restoration process, you can volunteer by contacting us here.
The Future – The Arboretum
We are presently formulating a strategy for our magnificent 30-acre Arboretum. Within this plan, we intend to replace and reinvigorate various trees and plant life. Our efforts will encompass the replacement of trees lost due to climate change, as well as the restoration of trees that have been affected by elemental forces and severe weather conditions.
We will also be adding information signs to the Arboretum, along with a tree tour, an online map and other initiatives which I am sure you will all like. Further updates will be announced soon!
