Billing Aquadrome CEO outlines 10-year, £100m plan for 'magnificent' Northampton holiday park

The chief executive leading the £100 million redevelopment of Billing Aquadrome has outlined his long-term vision for the site, which includes flood resilience work, new family facilities, and a possible relocation of the company’s head office to Northampton.

Geoffrey Smith, CEO of Meadow Bay Villages (MBV), said the site has “unbelievable potential” - but admitted it will take care, money, and time to get it right.

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Smith said: “I knew it very well. It was well known in the industry for all the challenges it had had for quite a long time. But if you flew over and didn’t know the background, you’d see a magnificent site. It’s right on a beautiful river, it’s got 11 lakes, a marina, and incredible biodiversity.”

Mr Smith, originally from Florida, has worked in the holiday park industry since 1992. He has held senior roles at Haven and co-founded Cove UK. He said a desire to spend more time with family led him to step away from wider operations and focus on one site.

“I’ve got three boys and they’re growing up fast,” he said. “I wanted them to still remember my name. I wanted to be back home more.”

Mr Smith said he was aware of Billing’s problems before MBV bought the site in 2023.

“Initially, the chairman said, ‘I don’t have a great story for you right now’,” he said. “They hadn’t run it right for a long time. They’d not invested. And of course, the flooding.”

Despite that, he said he could see the opportunity straight away.

“It’s surrounded by an amazing catchment,” he said. “You’ve got Northampton, Corby, Wellingborough, Milton Keynes. It should be perfect. But it’s not.”

Mr Smith said one of the biggest issues MBV inherited was the loss of the park’s identity.

“This was a thriving holiday park,” he said. “Even in the 2000s, you’d see pictures of the lakes packed with families. But over time it stopped being a holiday park and became something else.”

Over the last two decades, Billing has become home to hundreds of people living year-round in static caravans. Mr Smith said this is not sustainable.

“Holiday parks aren’t designed for permanent residence,” he said. “They’re not compatible. You’ve got people trying to live a normal life surrounded by weekend tourists. It doesn’t work.”

As part of a new masterplan, the number of static caravans will be reduced from 3,104 to 2,245. New bungalows will be introduced and zoning will be improved. There will also be tow zones, one for holiday park customers and one for residents, who will have to pay council tax.

“You can’t just throw some new units on and call it fixed,” he said. “We’re rebuilding it properly. It’s not about cabaret rooms and arcade machines anymore. It’s about giving families a great experience and connecting with the local area.”

New features added in the last year include a BMX pump track, woodland trails, dog agility area, play zones, and a Zen garden for parents of SEND children.

“These are the kinds of things families remember,” he said. “It shouldn’t cost £50 just to have a good time once you’re on-site. We want the experience to be valuable by itself - not because we’re charging for every little thing.”

Food and drink are also part of the rethink.

“We want the best fish and chips of any holiday park in the country,” he said. “We’re looking at food you can actually enjoy without breaking the bank.”

New accommodation will include hot tubs, proper mattresses, air fryers and outdoor seating.

“We’re not going to be a budget option,” he said. “We’re going to be a high-quality, value-for-money park that people come back to every year.”

Flooding remains a major issue. The park flooded five times last year, and a solution is not yet in place.

“You can’t just build a big wall and expect it to work,” he said. “This is a floodplain. It has to store water during extreme events. That’s the point of a floodplain.”

MBV brought in external consultants to design a park-wide flood resilience strategy. Every pitch will now sit below the 53-metre datum line. Flood risk is being modelled to the centimetre.

“We’ve had to model the flood risk to the centimetre. But it is going to happen again. The winters are getting wetter. It’s how we manage it that will make the difference.”

Earlier this year, MBV closed its smaller sister park in Cogenhoe due to flooding. Most residents chose to relocate to Billing.

“If people want to know how we operate, look at how we dealt with Cogenhoe,” he said. “The amount of resource from here dedicated to every customer moving to wherever they chose… and most, by the way, have come to Billing.”

Mr Smith said the company’s investors are committed to the redevelopment, which will not be rushed.

“This is a ten-year plan,” he said. “You can’t just put hundreds of units in and expect people to rent them. You’ve got to build the experience over time.”

He confirmed MBV has already secured funding for the full £100 million redevelopment and is not relying on debt.

“We have the cash,” he said. “It could start tomorrow. And we’ve already reserved the next tranche of tens of millions that’s ready to go.”

He added: “The residential part will fund a lot of the capital investment in the holiday park. That will generate the capital.”

MBV is now looking at relocating its head office to Northampton - a move that could bring dozens of jobs to the area.

“We’re looking at possibly relocating our head office to Northampton, having a call centre there,” he said. “We have lots of accountants, lots of IT people who need more, lots of specialist people.”

“This is going to be our home,” he added. “It doesn’t make sense to be running this kind of transformation from London. We’re going to be based here. That’s how seriously we take it.”

He said Billing’s central location is a major advantage over coastal parks.

“For Northampton, I think it is now - I don’t think it was probably recognised - but I think we’ve made a compelling reason why Billing should continue to exist.”

And the jobs go beyond seasonal workers.

“Holiday parks don’t just hire seasonal labour and unskilled labour,” he said. “We have electricians, we have plumbers, we have managers, we have administrators, accountants, IT people, chefs.”

Mr Smith said MBV still needs to win back public confidence in Billing Aquadrome.

“We have to rebuild trust,” he said. “We’re seeing more people rebooking this year, which is a great sign. But it’s going to take time. You lose trust quickly. It takes a long time to earn it back.”

He added: “Billing is a magnificent park. I believe it can be one of the best holiday parks in the UK again. It just needs care, investment, and time.”