Beccles, Peterborough and Whittlesey venues get summer boost

BBC News

18 hours ago

With much of the UK experiencing heatwaves, many of us are looking for ways to keep cool.As the mercury rises, some are taking the plunge and packed lidos are seeing the benefits - along with pubs and cafes offering a cooling drink beneath a shady parasol.Eight out of ten of the UK's hottest ever days were recorded at locations in eastern England.And businesses in the region have been explaining how having fun in the sun - safely - is giving takings a welcome boost.
Matt Day, general manager at Beccles Lido in Suffolk, said two of the biggest threats to the success of the outdoor pool were energy costs and weather that does not encourage the crowds to come out and splash about."This year the weather's been very kind to us - we've got some glorious weather and lots of people here having fun," he said."We've got so many more people coming this year than at this time last year and things are looking a lot better for us."
Last year, they were forced to consider losing staff and closing over the winter, but with the warm weather and a new lower energy contract, things are looking very good again, said Mr Day."It's absolutely flipped - and the more people that come, the better we'll look for the long-term."He admitted the weather was "out of our control" and weeks of forecast rain made staff "just put our head in our hands"."But then you get a weather forecast that we've got for the next couple of weeks and we're cheering and shouting from the rooftops to get people in here."The income was important, he said, as grants to help the facility keep going and make improvements often needed to be "match-funded" by the lido."We're happy to ride the highs and the lows to keep it going for everybody," he added.
Karen Perks, a director of The Shed Tap Room and Deli, in Peterborough, is in her first year running the business, but having managed other pub venues, she said: "We definitely see an uplift with the sun."We're never guaranteed a good summer in England... but I think, when it is here, [people] just make the most of it."Warm weather "massively" increased footfall, she said."You can see it on their faces that they're just having a great time and that's why they'll be here for two or three hours rather than just coming for a quick pint."You just pray it's going to be a good summer and this year, it's been a good one," she added.
Tim Forster, director of Fenland Aqua Park in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, was all in favour of the warmer weather."It's increasing our business drastically. The weather's bringing people out in droves - they're loving it," he said."We're doing 350 people a day and we hope the weather continues like this."
He said he had seen a marked difference to this time last year. "We always like to say the kids are getting wet anyway, so it doesn't matter, but spectators love sitting around in the sunshine watching... so it definitely affects our business. "If the weather wasn't as good our numbers might be down to about a third of what we're doing now." And the increased footfall was important, he said."The equipment's expensive and we've only got a short season to make money so we've got to make hay while the sun shines - and make the most of it."More sunshine - more jobs - larger profit," he added.
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