This 36-acre seafront site was originally a cricket ground, but in 1963 it was taken over by a group of New Zealanders along with Lord Langford. Together, they invested £125,000 to transform it into the UK’s only purpose-built harness racing track. Constructed in just four months, the development featured a large oval limestone track and a 3,000-seat covered grandstand. The official opening was conducted by Billy Butlin, who even tried his hand at racing one of the horses against Lord Langford.
The cricket club were told they could relocate inside the new raceway once it was built but this never happened. After much arguing the cricket club relocated to a site just outside the raceway, and in 1971 a new club house was built.
In 1967, Pontins first arrived in Prestatyn with plans to build an 18-acre holiday camp adjacent to the raceway. It was to be located on either side of Barkby Avenue, with 12 acres to the west and six acres to the east, connected by an underpass. This development would have encroached on the council-owned golf course, eliminating four holes, the practice area, and the clubhouse. Plans were drafted to rebuild these lost facilities on undeveloped land. However, planning permission was rejected by the Secretary of State for Wales.
In January 1969, the raceway was sold to Albert Gubay and Ken Nicholson, owners of the Kwik Save supermarket chain, for £150,000. They invested £60,000 to enclose the grandstand in glass, build a new restaurant, and install an inner circuit intended for stock car racing. Modern stables were built for 60 horses, and weekly harness racing events continued.
Less than 18 months later Pontins returned to Prestatyn and made an offer to buy the raceway which was accepted by the directors. Mr Gubay found a new location in Chasewater and went off to build another harness track.
Above press cutting from July 1970
Planning permission for the camp was granted in September 1970. The following month, a sod-cutting ceremony took place, followed by a luncheon at the nearby Grand Hotel, which had also been bought by Pontins. In his speech, Fred Pontin assured that the £1.5 million camp would be a credit to the area, stating, “We will not have any shanty town.”
At the time, it was the largest post-war holiday development in Wales. The construction was carried out by Hemmings & Kent, a company owned by Trevor Hemmings. However, the project was plagued by industrial disputes and “atrocious” working conditions, leading to several walkouts and strikes.
Despite all this, the camp was built in just 9 months with all chalets being traditionally built using no precast or prefab components. It was one of the new style of ‘rent-a-chalet’ camps that had been pioneered by Pontins at Brean Sands. Basically hundreds of flats housing thousands of people. These huge soulless camps lacked the charm and character of the smaller sites and most ended up looking more like council estates. But from a business perspective they were hugely profitable.
Pontins Prestatyn opened on 3rd July 1971, two months later than planned. The distinctive oval track of the raceway was retained and paved to form the internal road layout. Over 800 apartments were built in two-storey blocks located both inside and outside the loop. It became the largest Pontins camp in terms of capacity.
The camp was typically open from May to October, but in its early years, the swimming pool remained open throughout the winter, in collaboration with the council, for the benefit of local residents.
In 1973, the camp played a starring role in the comedy film Holiday on the Buses. In 2004, a plaque was unveiled at the main entrance to commemorate the occasion.
The following year, the camp hosted its first snooker pro-am tournament, where over a thousand amateurs competed against each other. The final 24 amateurs earned the opportunity to play against one of eight professionals. This popular week-long event became an annual fixture for many years, attracting big names like ‘Hurricane’ Higgins, Steve Davis, and Ray Reardon. The professionals typically stayed at the Pontins Grand Hotel next door.
In 1975, Pontins acquired the nearby Prestatyn Holiday Camp, which had been operating since 1939. The rundown camp had fallen on hard times and after a hefty investment it was reopened under the Pontins name in 1977 as Tower Beach. Despite best efforts, it was not a success and closed at the end of 1984.
Tragedy struck in 1978 when 21-year-old waiter David Bennett died in his chalet after being overcome by carbon monoxide from a gas cooker. In 1999, a woman was found murdered in one of the chalets, and her boyfriend was later charged with her death.
Trevor Hemmings took control of of the company after Fred Pontin retired and many camps were closed, sold or turned into housing estates. The remaining camps, which included Prestatyn, had been neglected and were starting to look rundown so in 1996 the company embarked on a 4-year £55 million refurbishment scheme. The money was spread out over 8 camps and, although not nearly enough, it did tackle some of the biggest problems. A number of chalets were refurbished which included new windows and satellite TV. A ‘Queen Vic’ pub was built, along with new attractions such as a junior driving school, quad bikes and abseiling wall.
Britannia Hotels take over
By 2011 only 5 camps remained and these were sold to Britannia Hotels. They’ve since been blamed for everything that went wrong with Pontins but the reality is that they inherited a bunch of rundown camps which had been starved of proper investment for years. They set about refurbishing most of the chalets with new flooring, paint, furniture, kitchens and bathrooms. Entertainment buildings were refreshed and acres of new carpet was installed. The camps looked better under Britannia than they had in years.
But while Butlins were going upmarket and raising their prices Pontins were doing the opposite and lowering theirs. And while Butlins were replacing old chalets, Pontins were still using its 1960s-style “council flats”. Although the cheap prices kept the camp full it didn’t leave much left over for cleaning, maintenance or future investment. The cheap prices also attracted undesirable guests. It started looking dirty and rundown again. The reviews got worse and after a promising start Britannia seemed to give up and admit defeat.
They eventually threw in the towel in 2023 by announcing the closures of camps at Camber Sands, Southport and Prestatyn. Brean Sands also closed due to a 3 year contract to house workers for the nearby Hinckley C nuclear project. Its long term future is unknown.
