Wales Premier Parks wins Powys Growth Award

A family business, which owns two caravan parks on the outskirts of Llanidloes, added another accolade to its growing list when it collected the Growth Award at the Powys Business Awards.

Clywedog Riverside Holiday Home Park and Red Kite Touring Park collected the award at the annual awards dinner held at The Hafren, Newtown.

The Onions family has owned Clywedog Riverside Holiday Home Park since 1996 and expanded in 2016 to develop Red Kite Touring Park, which has been a great success. The business, which employs six full-time staff and is planning to take on two more, has a turnover of around £1 million. The holiday park has 108 static caravans which attract tourists from the Midlands and South Wales while the touring park has an adults only policy.

Richard Onions has taken over the running of the business from his parents, having worked on the parks since the age of 16. He has been joined by his wife, Emily, a Business Management graduate. Responding to the award Richard and Emily said: “We are delighted to get local recognition for Red Kite Touring Park which was a long time in the planning process. We would like to build on our success now that the touring park is open for 10 months of the year.”

The business attributes its success to providing excellent customer service and a first class product, engaging with and supporting local businesses and nurturing and growing staff. The business holds an annual park barbecue to raise money for local charities and good causes. Local businesses are supported whenever possible, including funding a pocket map to promote them to the parks’ customers.

Red Kite Touring Park has won AA Campsite of the Year for Wales, achieved a special distinction for its dedication to a Great Crested Newt population and a coveted ‘Gold Award’ from David Bellamy. In addition, the business holds a ‘Platinum’ Loo of the Year Award for park washroom facilities, a five star grading from Visit Wales and five Pennants from the AA.

Powys Business Award judges said: “The business has invested heavily in site improvements. It is a local tourism company that supports the community for services it needs. During the development of the touring park, it also used local companies wherever possible. It has a strong business plan, with a commitment to staff development to follow an impressive performance to date.”