Callow Top Holiday Park

Callow Top Holiday Park (Callow Top) is a leisure, tourism, hospitality, and retail business. They run a caravan, camping and self-catering holiday park, which includes an on-site pub, restaurant and mini supermarket.

At the time of applying to GEP in November 2022, Callow Top had already begun their net zero carbon journey by introducing decarbonisation measures such as installing energy efficient LED lighting (largely motion sensor) and a large air source heat pump for their swimming and paddling pools. The introduction of roof mounted solar panels was the next phase of their plans, with it having both significant cost and energy saving potential, at a time when utility price increases were having a crippling effect on businesses.

Callow Top were successful in applying for GEP grant funding of £20,000 in February 2023, which enabled them to purchase and install an 86.25 kW solar array on their property, which can generate in excess of 60,000 kWh of green energy per year.

Following the successful delivery of the project, Sue Deane, a partner at Callow Top, commented “The grant funding helped persuade all the business partners to make the investment. The economy was very volatile and unpredictable, so this financial help was very much appreciated. Without it I am sure this investment would not have taken place”.

Not only has the business realised a significant reduction in their operating costs and reliance upon electricity from the grid, due to the investment they have realised some wider impacts with Sue reporting “Our customers are showing an interest in our Solar installation and our commitment to being greener and cleaner. They are genuinely impressed. This is definitely beneficial for our reputation and will increase our customer base.”

Following their initial positive experience, Callow Top have since applied for additional support from GEP to install electric vehicle charging points on site for use by both customers and staff.