New £1m Essex bridge finally fixes village’s missing link
People travelling between two popular holiday parks in a village near Clacton have at last been spared the 20-minute drive from one park to the other – despite their being just yards apart.
That’s because a new £1 million bridge installed this week now connects St Osyth Holiday Park and Martello Holiday Park across a watercourse in the village of Jaywick.
The 40-metre long and 7.35-metre wide bridge in two sections was hoisted into place by a giant 200-tonne crane, and has both a road carriageway for vehicles and a walkway for pedestrians.
Investing in Clacton visitor economy
Park Holidays UK, owners of the two parks, said its substantial investment in the bridge would help deliver a further boost to the Clacton area’s visitor economy.
It will also provide a faster means of evacuating residents from Jaywick and the surrounding areas if an emergency is triggered by the threat of coastal flooding.
Work on the huge civil engineering project began in October last year, and has been led by Essex construction specialists S&M Contractors of Braintree.
Park Holidays UK director Tony Clish says the bridge will remove the anomaly of two holiday parks just yards apart, but presently requiring a 20-minute drive from one to the other.
Clacton Popular Holiday Parks
“St Osyth and Martello are among our group’s most popular holiday parks, and now our guests will be able to enjoy the facilities of both without having to get in their cars,” he said.
“The new bridge will also make it easier for us to further develop two already successful parks, and enable us to attract even more visitors to the region.
“This will be especially welcomed by the many local businesses which rely heavily on tourism spending, and which have been hard hit by the lockdowns of the past year.
“As an environmentally responsible company, we are also pleased that the bridge will dramatically cut the volume of air pollution caused by vehicles travelling between the parks.
“It will also reduce road traffic which can increase heavily in the summer holiday months.
“As a business with a keen interest in seeing the Jaywick area develop and prosper, we are delighted to be helping with its regeneration in this way,” said Mr Clish.
Park Holidays UK owns six seaside parks in Essex, and recently received the prestigious Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award, based on the number of glowing reviews posted by park guests.
Busy holiday year to come
“We’ve seen bookings continue to rise for 2021, even during the present lockdown, and are forecasting our busiest-ever year coming up,” said Mr Clish.
“This will be great news for everyone, and the new bridge will definitely have an important role to play in the months and years ahead!” he said.
More details about its parks in Essex and elsewhere are available at www.ParkHolidays.com
