Community and Tourism Worries Over Pontins Brean Sands Closure

October 3, 2022 Chopsy Baby

A three-year plan to house employees from EDF at Pontin’s Brean Sands will not impact on local communities or holiday makers EDF says.

Plans to house around 900 workers from the Hinkley Point C project at the dilapidated holiday park, has caused concerns within the local community. Residents are anxious about how this will impact Brean and Berrow for both residents and tourists.

Brean Parish Council has been engaging with EDF and Sedgemoor District Council over plans for the change of use. In response to concerns the Parish Council has compiled a document addressing these. In it it says: ‘The tourists are part of the fabric of Brean during peak times. Brean is a holiday destination which is part of the attraction for tourists. There is concern that Brean will lose a significant number of tourists from the Pontins site and this will impact the overall experience of Brean as a tourist destination.’

But in response, EDF says the site will see multi-million pound upgrades to the site’s electrics, wifi coverage, accommodation as well as improvements to the park’s wider infrastructure.

‘It should be noted that there has been no investment and refurbishment of the facilities at Pontins for many years,’ EDF says,

The influx of employees won’t impact on health care or local traffic and transport. Employees will have access to primary health care facilities on site and will be bused to work on dedicated staff buses only.

EDF says: ‘There are a very large number of tourism bed spaces in the Brean and Berrow area and so whilst the temporary loss of accommodation at Pontins will reduce this, it will still remain one of the largest caravans and camping tourist areas in the country. It is also known that the Pontins site is in need of extensive improvements in order to provide the type of holiday accommodation expected by tourists.’

An open meeting between residents, councillors, representatives of Sedgemoor District Council and EDF will take place on Tuesday 04 October 2022 in the Village Hall Brean at 7.30pm.