This year’s conference of the Holiday and Residential Parks Association (HARPA) in Westminster saw a new record set for the number of delegates attending the event, and also the number of MPs visiting the QEII Centre to show their support for park-owning businesses in their constituencies.
All of those present at the two-day January conference witnessed the official launch of HARPA’s new identity as an important new milestone was established in the association’s proud 75-year history.
The upbeat and energised mood of the summit was summed up by HARPA national chairman Ian James who said that a shared sense of purpose and resolve would make this a landmark event.
And there was another very literal landmark to celebrate because sited right outside the front of the QEII Centre was a 42-foot long park home from Omar which made a stunning centrepiece to photographs of politicians and HARPA members.
Modernity and a future-focussed vision summed up the association’s reinvigorated role, director-general Debbie Walker told delegates, adding that these were also the directions of travel which would be taken by speakers at the event.
That was certainly the focus of Lewis Iwu who is CEO of the Purpose Union which helps organisations, campaign on social and environmental issues. A former Oxford graduate, Lewis has worked closely with HARPA on its Parks Make Places initiative.
He unveiled the results of the year-long exploration into how parks are benefitting local communities, describing it as sending an important message to politicians and decision-makers.
The message from international speaker Steve Judge was equally as positive as he told the inspirational story of how a horrific car accident had put him in a wheelchair and told that he would never walk again.
Refusing to accept that grim diagnosis, Steve fought against the odds not just to walk but also to run, cycle and swim again, twice becoming a World Paratriathlon Champion.
There was inspiration also to be drawn from the address to delegates by Will Lankston, the MD of Timpson Direct which owns a portfolio of 2,100 stores in Britain offering services from shoe and phone repairs to dry cleaning and key cutting.
Will expanded on Timpson’s policy of “Upside Down Management” which gives employees – some 12.5% of whom have served time in prison – total authority to do whatever they can to please customers.
They are supported by the firm’s philosophy of ensuring that the happiness of staff is its main goal. The group owns 19 holiday caravans on parks across the UK which each year, provide around 700 families with completely free stays.
For ethical hacker Jamie Woodruff, happiness has always been a computer keyboard and a successful breach of a client firm’s cyber defences, and over the years, he has played a key role in uncovering vulnerabilities within major organisations.
Jamie described how parks could best protect their digital footprint and not fall victim to the growing scourge of ransomware infection – and he drew gasps from delegates when he hacked the mobile phones of volunteer guests live on the conference stage.
Political insights were provided to conference by Times columnist Fraser Nelson. Despite his press background, Fraser believes that social media rather than newspapers are now shaping political opinion, and that therein lies danger.
Algorithms, he explained, can present an apocalyptic vision of the world and can help fashion extremist views. He, however, doesn’t think that Britain is broken, and urged park owners concerned about issues such as visitor levies to stay cool and lobby their local MPs.
The couple’s frequent holidays at the park are shared with their three young sons, and her holiday caravan ownership experience has been “nothing but positive” Kelly told delegates.
“Positivity” was also at the core of an entertaining talk given by Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Sara Davies. Remaining positive was the key to building business resilience said Sara who first entered the Den in 2019 as its youngest ever female investor.
She described how she started her own company, Crafter’s Companion, whilst studying at York University in 2005, and which was turning over £500,000 by the time she graduated. Her message to park owners was all about setting goals, self-belief, and not being afraid to ask for help along the way.
Compering the conference and providing lively and entertaining introductions to each session was former BBC journalist Penny Haslam. Penny’s 20-year media career has made her a popular figure across a wide range of TV and radio programmes including The One Show and BBC Breakfast.
Penny also had her own speaking slot at the conference with a talk entitled “Make Yourself a Little Bit Famous” in which she encouraged park owners not to hold back when demonstrating the skills, expertise and knowledge they had accumulated.
Running alongside the conference at the QEII centre was an exhibition featuring many major suppliers of goods and services to park businesses. Their attendance and generous sponsorship, said Debbie Walker, had played a major part in making the event such a sparkling success.
The conference agenda also featured the official handover of the chains of office as HARPA chair from Ian James to Claire Flower, only the second female incumbent to assume the role in the association’s history.
