In 1964, Butlins, in collaboration with ABC Cinemas, announced an ambitious plan to develop a major holiday and leisure complex in Blackpool, dubbed Ventureland. The proposed site was the old airfield adjacent to Stanley Park, and the plans included a large Butlins holiday camp, an ABC drive-in cinema with space for 1,000 cars, an exhibition hall, and a range of additional attractions. Despite the initial excitement, the scheme was ultimately abandoned, and Blackpool Zoo was later constructed on part of the site.
The following year, Butlins turned their attention to Southport, proposing a 100-acre holiday camp with 2,000 chalets at Ainsdale, just north of Shore Road. The proposal met strong opposition from the Residents Association, leading to a heated debate in July 1965. The council ultimately rejected the plan, though they offered Butlins an alternative location at Marshside. After personally inspecting the site, Bobby Butlin declined the offer, effectively ending the company’s plans in the area.
Less than a month later, Pontins stepped in with a proposal for a smaller 30-acre camp with 700 chalets just south of Shore Road. Pontins emphasized that it would not be a traditional holiday camp but rather a “chalet village.” Opposition remained, with the local Tory candidate stating, “I am against a holiday camp north, west, south, or east of Shore Road.” A public inquiry was held in January 1967, during which the town council supported the plan, while the Residents Association presented a petition of 3,000 signatures opposing it. In June 1967, the Minister of Housing approved the proposal and granted a long lease.
Construction began in May 1968, with Southport Mayor Alderman Mitchell cutting the first sod. The project, built by Hemmings & Kent, a construction company owned by Pontins protégé Trevor Hemmings, was completed in just nine months using 400 workers. The chalets were arranged in 68 two-storey blocks and built entirely in brick, with no precast or prefabricated components.
It was one of the new style of self-catering ‘rent-a-chalet’ camps that had been pioneered by Pontins at Brean Sands. It consisted of hundreds of flats housing thousands of people. These huge camps lacked the charm and character of the smaller sites, and most ended up looking more like council estates. But from a business perspective they were hugely profitable. Pontins announced that 25,000 people had already booked at Southport before the camp had even opened.
Pontins Southport opened in May 1969 and was an immediate success. Olympic swimmer Neil Jackson christened the new indoor pool by taking the first plunge.
The majority of the 781 chalets followed Pontins’ standard A5 design, a 20ft by 20ft (6m x 6m) layout that could sleep up to six people. Each included a kitchen, lounge, bathroom, and two bedrooms each with two beds, while a sofa bed in the lounge provided two more sleeping spaces. A smaller number of one-bedroom chalets were available for four guests. Electricity was supplied through coin meters, televisions were coin-operated, and the showers required guests to repeatedly press a button to keep the water flowing.
The camp offered a range of facilities, including a large indoor swimming pool, a boating lake, a playground, a children’s nursery, and a massive entertainment building with a ballroom and several bars. It also featured a games room, launderette, hair salon, and a first-aid station staffed by a registered nurse. Fred Pontin acquired a bungalow nearby on Chatsworth Road.
In 1973, Pontin submitted plans to expand the camp by an additional 15 acres, but the proposal was rejected. He tried again in December 1977, sweetening the deal by offering to build a new motel and conference center in Southport overlooking Marine Lake. However, just three weeks later, Pontins’ shares were suspended after Coral Leisure launched a takeover bid. The Southport expansion plans were quickly abandoned, and Pontin was ultimately forced out of office.
Trevor Hemmings, whose construction company had originally built the camp, became involved in the takeover bid for Pontins and replaced Fred Pontin as managing director. A few years later, he purchased the entire company. His main focus, however, was on closing camps and redeveloping the land, but Southport was spared simply because the site was leased from the council.
By the 1990s, the Southport camp, like many of the remaining Pontins sites, was looking a bit rundown. In 1996, Pontins launched a £55 million refurbishment program, though the investment was spread across eight camps. Several new facilities were added including a ‘Queen Vic’ pub, along with a junior driving school, quad bikes and abseiling wall.
A number of chalets were refurbished which included new windows, furniture and bathrooms. These were listed as Club apartments and attracted a premium price – they also featured free electricity, satellite TV, free towels and early check-in. The older chalets were listed as either Classic or Basic.
In 2008 Pontins changed hand for £46 million to a company called Ocean Parcs, a consortium led by Graham Parr, a former Pontins executive. The new owners talked big, unveiling ambitious plans for sweeping changes and a £50 million refurbishment programme. In reality, little materialised. Standards continued to slip, investment failed to appear, and by 2011 the company collapsed into bankruptcy. Pontins was sold Britannia Hotels for £18.5 million. They soon accused the previous owners of “milking it for money” and displaying “tremendous arrogance.”
Britannia have since been blamed for everything that went wrong with Pontins. In truth, they inherited a bunch of rundown camps that had suffered years of under investment. Restoring the sites fully would have required an enormous outlay that made little financial sense. To their credit, Britannia did invest several million pounds, refurbishing chalets with new furniture, fresh paint, updated windows, and new flooring. The entertainment buildings were refreshed and acres of new carpet was installed. Yes, it was all done “on the cheap” but under Britannia, the camps were all looking far better than they had in years, and showing clear signs of investment.
However, they largely continued the long-standing policy of pitching the camps at the budget end of the market, To put it in perspective, an apartment that cost £259 per week in August 1990 was priced at just £209 per week in August 2015. On top of this, a steady stream of offers and discounts meant that most guests ended up paying even less.
But it was a losing battle. The low prices left little margin for cleaning, maintenance, or future investment, and inevitably attracted a less desirable clientele. In truth, many people only returned because the camp was cheap, not because it offered a quality experience. Reviews were overwhelmingly negative, and the company faced a steady stream of bad press.
Britannia eventually threw in the towel in 2023 by announcing the closures of camps at Camber Sands, Southport and Prestatyn. Brean Sands also closed due to a 3 year contract to house workers for the nearby Hinckley C nuclear project.
To read more about Sir Fred Pontin and the history of Pontins Holiday Camps read our blog post here. We’ve also covered the history of several other Pontin camps which can be seen in our A-Z blog index.
We’d love to hear your stories and memories of Pontins Southport. Please feel free to leave comments below.
