16-552: The International Open Series (often referred to as Pontins International Open Series or PIOS for sponsorship purposes), was a series of snooker tournaments that ran from the 2001/02 season until the 2009/10 season . It was originally called the Open Tour but was renamed in 2005/2006 . The tour was established to provide players not on the WPBSA Main Tour or Challenge Tour with professional competition, and
32-848: A five-year multi-million investment plan for the remaining five parks. Refurbishment work completed in 2010 included a new half-board restaurant and ice skating rink at the Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park, and a new roller skating rink at the Brean Sands Holiday Park. Proposals of rebuilding the Camber Sands and Southport Holiday Parks and doubling the capacity of the Pakefield Holiday Park were also made. In November 2010, Pontins entered administrative receivership and in January 2011,
48-687: A small railway station on the Blackpool South to Preston branch line. Squires Gate is home to three non-league football clubs, with grounds very close to each other. A.F.C. Blackpool and Squires Gate F.C. both play in the North West Counties League , while Blackpool Wren Rovers F.C. play in the West Lancashire League . It is also home to the training ground of the town's professional club, Blackpool F.C. This Lancashire location article
64-636: Is a list of some former Pontins resorts in the UK and Ireland that have either closed or been sold: Squires Gate, Blackpool Squires Gate is a district and an electoral ward in South Shore , Blackpool on the Fylde coast , in the Blackpool district, in the ceremonial county of Lancashire , England. It is located at the south of the town near the boundary with Lytham St Annes . The population of
80-467: The Q School in the 2010/11 season . Pontins Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK , founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin . It was acquired by Britannia Hotels in 2011. Pontins specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays featuring entertainment at resorts, or "holiday parks", as they have branded them. Accommodation is usually in the form of chalets (which Pontins calls "apartments"). In 2022, it
96-495: The Bluecoats were Stu Francis , Shane Richie , Bobby Davro , Bradley Walsh , Nick Wilton , Lee Mack and Carol Lee Scott (who later played " Grotbags "). In 1978, the company was sold to Coral for £56 million. In 1980, Coral (including Pontins) was taken over by Bass Brewing , who sold Pontins in 1987 to a management buyout team led by Trevor Hemmings . It was sold again in 1989, to Scottish & Newcastle . Over
112-642: The EASB's split from the WPBSA for 2003/04 the entry criteria were revised barring professional and non-English players from entering. After the Challenge Tour was discontinued, the entry criteria were revised again to allow international amateur players to compete, and from 2005/06 the competition promoted players directly to the Main Tour . The series was abandoned after the 2009/10 season and replaced by
128-552: The best performers were promoted to the Challenge Tour . It was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) during its first season, but the English Association of Snooker and Billiards (EASB), an amateur body, took it over from 2002/03 . The event was open to professionals, amateurs and international players for the first couple of seasons, but following
144-495: The company was bought out of receivership by Britannia Hotels . In 2014, the former Pontins resort at Sand Bay was purchased by the group and it became the sixth resort to be operated under the new Pontins brand. On 30 November 2023, Britannia Hotels, owners of Pontins, suddenly closed the parks at Prestatyn and Camber Sands with immediate effect, affecting people who had made bookings for the Christmas period. On 3 January 2024
160-610: The next ten years, the company closed or sold off multiple sites. In a three-year programme in the mid-1990s, the remaining camps were modernised. By 2000, the company was operating only eight camps, and was sold back to Hemmings. In 2008, the company was sold to Ocean Parcs for £46 million. Wall Park holiday centre was not included in the sale. In January 2009, Pontins announced the closure of its Hemsby holiday centre. Pontins Blackpool in Squires Gate closed in October 2009 and
176-580: The park at Southport was suddenly closed following flooding in Storm Henk . In March 2021 a whistleblower provided the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) with an internal Pontins document listing what were considered to be common Irish surnames, deeming people so named to be "undesirable guests" whose booking was to be refused. This was done to be able to refuse bookings from Romani and Irish Travellers based on their name; discrimination
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#1732780462104192-634: The site of a former U.S. army base (built during World War II ), at Brean Sands near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset at a cost of £23,000. Pontin formed a syndicate, in which he held 50% control, to own the camp. Within a year he had six camps. Over the years he bought more camps and personally ran them for a year, before selling them to the syndicate. He gradually expanded his empire to thirty sites. The camps were smaller and less expensive than Butlin's holiday camps. Pontins had Bluecoats to entertain their guests, as opposed to Butlins Redcoats . Among
208-474: The ward taken at the 2011 census was 6,437. One of the most significant sites at Squires Gate was the holiday camp. Originally called Squires Gate camp, it became a Pontins holiday centre, but closed in October 2009 for a housing development. Prior to becoming a holiday camp, the camp was used as a military base during World War II . Blackpool Airport is in Squires Gate, and the district also has
224-529: Was also by accent. The practice was investigated by the EHRC, which found Pontins was "directly discriminating on the basis of race", breaching the Equality Act 2010 . The Britannia Hotel Group , which owns Pontins, made a legal agreement with the EHRC to investigate and end the practice, and change its policies and systems accordingly. As of January 2024 Pontins operated the following resorts: This
240-401: Was rated the worst British holiday park chain out of a field of 19 in a survey by consumer association Which? As of April 2024 , two of the remaining Pontins resorts (Brean Sands and Pakefield) were closed to the public for a temporary but extended period due to serving as accommmodation for construction workers on nearby projects. Fred Pontin opened his first holiday camp in 1946 on
256-597: Was subsequently demolished after being acquired by property developer Persimmon , leaving only five parks still operating under the Pontins brand. Pontins headquarters were relocated to the Southport Holiday Park, Ainsdale in Southport . From the original Hemmings buy-out until then, the headquarters were at Sagar House in the village of Eccleston, Lancashire . In September 2009, Pontins announced
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