Center Parcs

It sounds as if it was a relief to Paul Drayner when he got the go ahead to modernise the communications system at the Sherwood Forest Center Parcs site.

Between 2000 and 2005, the wireless system on the site had consisted of around 80 handsets on a rental and service contract, made by various manufacturers, working off a trunking system.

“The environment here is tough on radios.” Paul explained, “We had early problems with aerials breaking, but dealing with that was a question of educating people on how to handle them.”

Over the five year period, the sets naturally deteriorated and the users found battery life was getting worse and the system had dead spots, where radios would appear to be out of range of the base.

Radio Communications company Zycomm advised the Center Parcs team to have a complete overhaul of their system when their contract came to an end in 2005.

On a site visit, Paul explained just how tough a task faced Zycomm when they took on the job of producing a radio system that would completely satisfy Center Parcs’ standards and specifications.

The Sherwood Forest site covers 400 acres and is about two miles long. That means the boundary is a mile from the centre of the site. It is heavily wooded and there a many structures dotted around – not easy to get radio reception across the whole area!

There are 835 villas on the site, housing 4000 guests at any given time. Not only that, but on Mondays and Fridays, it is change over day and guests leave their villas by 10am, but can stay and enjoy the facilities until midnight. New arrivals can get into their accommodation at 3pm. That means up to 1400 staff, working to make the Center Parcs experience a great one.

The plethora of operational functions relying on radio communications is staggering:-

The technical services team is responsible for maintaining the fabric of the buildings and services such as plumbing, electricity and gas supply.

Ground Services take care of the roads, forestry issues and outdoor estate management.


Housekeeping has the small task of cleaning every villa on a daily basis and reporting any damage or malfunction to the technical services team.

The Security team is responsible for – well – security, including access control and managing any incidents which may occur.

Leisure Services manage all the activities on the site and these range from cycling to swimming in the sub-tropical water centre to laser shooting to bowling. . . the list goes on and on.

The Food and Beverage team have a team of duty managers who need to keep in touch to ensure all guests are kept fed and watered during their stay.

The Retail team keep in touch with all the different shops and stalls to ensure that the high standard of service is maintained. Phew!

Then there is the Information Centre, which takes calls from guests about anything from opening hours and menus to maintenance, lost children or illness. And speaking of illness – there is a team of nurses on call 24/7 who can be contacted by radio and dispatched to assist.

If there is a fire, an alarm goes off on the site, which alerts security and technical services and they form an on site, highly trained fire-fighting team, who use radios to manage the incident as well as their fire-fighting equipment to deal with any flames.

Paul mentions another use for the comms system; Center Parcs run regular events for guests, including a Bonfire Night spectacular. Paul explained that the local fire brigade come on site to supplement the in-house team and spotters are posted throughout the pine woods to keep in touch and monitor the situation.

Zycomm had been dealing with Center Parcs for several years when it was decided to replace the comms system, so they were aware of the environment and how tough the hardware would have to be. The existing MPT1327 protocol would provide a trunking system which would cover the entire site, but they had to specify handsets which were reliable and tough enough to withstand the rigours of running the Sherwood Forest site.

The Center Parcs environment is a harsh one for electronic equipment. Outdoor teams will be exposed to the full range of weather and maintenance personnel may find their radios are put in demanding situations. The handsets would be expected to withstand hard knocks, water, dirt, a range of temperatures and in the case of managing the “Sub-Tropical Paradise” watersports centre, the radios would be subjected to high levels of humidity, combined with constant temperatures of around 30 degrees centigrade.

Zycomm had no hesitation in recommending the Kenwood TK-3180 for the job. It has all the credentials to be fit for the purpose. It exceeds the stringent IP54/55 dust and water intrusion standards and the MIL-STD 810 C,D,E and F environmental standards which would pass it fit for military service. In addition, the TK-3180 has technical features, which would help the Center Parcs management team to run their site even more efficiently and safely.

After some extensive testing, the Center Parcs team accepted Zycomm’s proposal and within a few weeks, the new system was up and running. Although Zycomm continue to offer refinements to the system on an ongoing basis, Paul Drayner and his staff were clearly impressed with the result.

Here are some observations about the new system: 

There is now 98 per cent coverage of the site; the audio quality from the handsets has cut down on repetition of messages; there is very little interference or cross talk between departments; the aerials don’t break; the radios are smaller and lighter; the battery charge lasts much longer; the metal belt clips don’t break; the emergency key means increased confidence and security; you can dial out to telephone extensions, or into the radio system from a telephone.

On top of all this, Paul says that there has been a 80 per cent reduction in breakdowns. Out of 110 handsets, only two have been returned for repair in 12 months. He seems satisfied with the whole system.

But the last word goes to Ollie Omotosho of Zycomm, “High profile, customer focused businesses are no stranger to Zycomm,” he says, “We have been in this business for more than 25 years and we like to think that we provide the best, for the best. We admire Center Parcs for their professionalism and how they worked with us to get the right solution which ensures excellent customer service and safety at all times.”

For more information on Zycomm, contact Ollie Omotosho, Director of Marketing, Zycomm marketing@zycomm.co.uk, telephone number:+44 (0)1332 570 123 ext.203

For more information on Kenwood two way radios, please click here.