Mill Rythe Holiday Village on Hayling Island 'will not reopen for the foreseeable future'

Like other parks across the UK, Mill Rythe Holiday Village on Hayling Island was originally forced to close on March 22 due to the escalation of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, while many of the county’s holiday parks are making preparations for a proposed July 4 reopening, the resort has confirmed it will not be reopening due to the ‘package’ nature of holidays which are based around communal dining and entertainment.

A statement on the park’s website, which is part of the Away Resorts franchise, said: ‘Mill Rythe Holiday Village is a fully catered operation with up to 400 guests eating breakfast and dinner together in addition to viewing the nightly entertainment together.

‘This ‘package’ offering is an essential element of the product. We’ve therefore had to seriously consider the reopening of Mill Rythe, putting the safety of our customers first and we’ve determined that it’s with great sadness we are unable to provide the Mill Rythe holiday experience for the foreseeable future.’

The holiday village had already proposed plans to close the resort in July 2021 to redevelop into self-catering accommodation. The website suggested this redevelopment could now be brought forward and stressed ‘we are not closing down forever – just closing to redevelop.’

An email to holiday-makers from the company’s chief executive officer, Carl Castledine confirmed the closure.

The email stated: ‘The business previously announced plans to close Mill Rythe in July 2021 and to redevelop it into an exciting self-catering offer. Due to the current situation, Mill Rythe will now not reopen and will fully close on July 31, 2020 with a re-development of the park yet to be confirmed.

‘I appreciate this decision will come as a disappointment to guests, and for those of you who may have been considering staying at the park, but we hope you understand in the current climate why we cannot re-open its doors.’

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Mr Castledine went on to say the company will be releasing more details about the redevelopment plans ‘over the forthcoming weeks’.

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