North Devon holiday parks make a clean break with beach tidy-up

Two North Devon holiday parks have recently led a local effort to clean up Devon's coastline as part of the Marine Conservation Society’s annual Great British Beach Clean. 

Bideford Bay Holiday Park, along with neighbouring Ruda Holiday Park in Croyde, organised the event, which took place from September 20 to 29.

More than 40 team members and local volunteers participated in the clean-up, collecting two bags of litter weighing a total of 4.2 kilograms from the beaches in the area. 

The Great British Beach Clean, now in its 31st year, is a nationwide initiative aimed at removing litter from UK shores and gathering important data to support marine conservation efforts.

Bideford Bay and Ruda Holiday Parks are both owned by Parkdean Resorts, the UK’s leading holiday park operator. 

These parks were among 22 Parkdean Resorts sites across England, Scotland, and Wales that took part in the beach cleans during the week.

In total, 302 kilograms of litter was collected by over 250 volunteers during 23 beach and inland clean-ups organised by the company.

Jane Bates, Director of Sustainability and Procurement at Parkdean Resorts, said: “We’re proud to once again support the Marine Conservation Society’s annual Great British Beach Clean, and are thankful to every one of the generous volunteers who worked with us to make these incredible results possible.

“Initiatives like this support our commitment to caring for our parks, people, and planet, while also giving back to our local communities. We will continue to work hard throughout the year to keep our surrounding areas clean and inviting for the community along with the millions of holidaymakers who visit our parks every year.”

Clare Trotman, Beachwatch Officer at the Marine Conservation Society, said, "We are grateful for Parkdean Resorts’ support in organising many events as part of this year’s Great British Beach Clean. By holding beach cleans around the UK, they will help us to collect data from our beaches on what litter is polluting our seas. Without our volunteers heading down to the beach to collect and record litter, we wouldn’t be able to do the work we do. Their hard work allows us to campaign for a healthier, better protected ocean."

This marks the tenth consecutive year that Parkdean Resorts has taken part in the initiative. In addition to their coastal clean-ups, the company also hosts litter picking and canal path clean-ups at its inland park locations and within local communities.