New owners at a Moray holiday park say that their £1.5million investment has proven they were serious about reversing its fortunes.
The Silver Sands park at Covesea in Lossiemouth is close to opening a new swimming pool, steam bath and spa – while a new leisure centre will give the site “unbeatable appeal”.
Silver Sands hit the national headlines for all the wrong reasons when a salesman employed by previous owners admitted conning seven people into purchasing caravans that were not his to sell.
Neale Rothera subsequently escaped a jail sentence at Elgin Sheriff Court after admitting receiving £53,500 from unsuspecting members of the public who believed they were purchasing dream mobile homes on the site.
The site went into receivership and new owners subsequently made promises that were never kept, ensuring the site maintained a poor reputation with the public.
[box] “Delivering a new leisure facility to the residents and holidaymakers at Silver Sands has been of paramount importance to the firm since it acquired the park.”[/box] Now, however, new owners Richard Wight Estates have invested heavily in the site with a view to turning it once again into a major tourist attraction.
Speaking on behalf of the owners Danny McInnes said: “Delivering a new leisure facility to the residents and holidaymakers at Silver Sands has been of paramount importance to the firm since it acquired the park.
“We are delighted to announce that this fantastic new leisure facility is nearly finished. Other owners over a period of 15 years have promised a new pool and so on – but have never actually delivered anything at all.
“Not only are we delivering a fabulous heated pool but we are putting the icing on the cake with the other attractions – the seam room and spa and the amazing state-of-the-art gym.”
Silver Sands now enjoys a five-star rating from the AA, part of a remarkable turnaround for the park which was only taken over by Richard Wright Estates a year ago.
The company now employ 30 people with plans to expand that by 15 in the near future.
Mr McInnes added: “The new leisure centre will give us unbeatable appeal, strengthening our place as an important local employer and promoting Moray to a wide audience.”