According to the Environment Agency (EA), over one tenth of land in England and Wales is at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Indeed, climate experts believe that this situation could worsen and so it is without a doubt that currently our biggest environmental threat will be from flooding. This issue has never been felt more keenly than by the many leisure park operators whose businesses are situated close to waterways, either at the coast or near rivers. DEFRA estimates that around 1450 caravan and camping sites in England and Wales are at flood risk from rivers and the sea, with over two-thirds of these being at either significant or moderate flood risk.
However, by tackling the issue and implementing a series of measures that improves site safety in the event of a flood, a whole new world of commercial opportunities open up for park operators. In the case of O’ Sea Leisure, who operate a caravan, lodge and camping park on the Essex coast, through a thorough environmental risk assessment and the introduction of flood warning plans, implemented by specialist environmental consultancy Enzygo, has now enabled them to gain planning permission for additional bases as well as an extension to their operating season.
According to Colin Downie, General Manager at Osea Leisure, “By working together with Enzygo we have been able to ensure much greater site safety which in turn has helped steer through planning developments, that over the course of this year, has increased our revenue by over 40 per cent”
