MDL Marinas reinvests £7m in facilities across UK network

MDL Marinas is reinvesting over £7 million this year, to maintain its network of coastal and inland marinas and deliver safe and secure access to the water in all conditions.

The marina group reinvests millions of pounds annually across its network of 19 UK marinas and boatyards, to ensure the standard of its facilities both on and off the water.

MDL is spending over £1.5 million on replacing and re-decking pontoons, quay walls upkeep and corrosion protection to continue providing a modern, stable and anti-slip marina infrastructure throughout the entire year.

In addition, all tides access at each of MDL’s marinas is guaranteed with an extensive, ongoing dredging schedule. This year, MDL says it has devoted over £500,000 to dredging, with a further £500,000 focused on the refurbishment of onsite toilet and shower facilities. A total of £400,000 was invested in equipment, including two dry stack forklifts.

MDL has also invested in comprehensive training for its staff to ensure that each team member has the skills to support the expected level of customer service, from both an operational as well as a safety point of view.

Training this year included bespoke water safety training led by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) water safety experts and HSE First Aid at Work courses supporting MDL Marinas’ culture of safety and security.

From an environmental perspective, and with a view to aiding boat owners who wish to make their boating as green as possible, MDL continues to invest in its green initiatives. This year has seen the production and display of informative signage on how to stop the spread of invasive species, the purchase of two new electric vehicles for the marinas, an expansion of electric workboats across the network including a project to refit the ex-Brixham workboat, the fitting of multiple solar panels across the network and the installation of three Aqua superPower electric boat chargers with two more committed to.

“Our customers, and the experience they have across our network, are our priority,” says Kerry Marriott, head of operations at MDL. “We endeavour to provide exceptional service, and for us to maintain this, we need to constantly spend and invest at each of our marinas. So much that we do is not obvious but would be very noticeable if it were not done.

“Costs of materials have risen substantially, in some cases over 90 per cent, meaning we are having to pay more, just to maintain the same high level of service and experience for berth holders, visitors and tenants.

“We will continue to ensure that our marinas offer an excellent standard of customer service and experience in the years to come and have already allocated over £30 million to be spent in the next five years.”