Highlighting the cream of the crop, the annual British Pool & Hot Tub Awards hosted by SPATA (Swimming Pool and Allied Trade Association) and BISHTA (British and Irish Spa and Hot Tub Association) spotlights companies striving for the best, working to trade association standards and an industry-recognised code of ethics, distinguishing themselves as high-calibre professionals within their field, and helping to raise standards for the industry.
These awards not only recognise companies for their superior work, celebrating both the technical and aesthetic aspects, but they also create an inspirational gallery of award-winning projects for consumers to view, in the knowledge that as trade association members, every company is expected to work to British and European standards, and to trade ethically.
This year’s award ceremony took place on the evening of Tuesday, 31st January, and is annually part of the Industry Gala Evening, hosted by the BSPF (British Swimming Pool Federation) at the Coventry Building Society Arena in the West Midlands during SPATEX, the UK’s only dedicated international pool, spa, and wellness show (31st January to 2nd February 2023).
Phil Oldershaw hosted the night, and presenting this year's awards were; the BSPF President – Pete Grinnall, SPATA Chairman – Ben Studdy and the BISHTA Chairman – Dorian Davies. The special guest of honour was Keri-anne Payne, a South African-born British swimmer specialising in marathon open water swimming and long-distance freestyle swimming in the pool. She is a two-time 10-kilometre open water world champion and an Olympic silver medallist.
BISHTA Member Darlly Europe, based in Telford, were the 2023 winner of the Peter Newbery Award for UK Innovation at the 2023 British Pool & Hot Tub Awards ceremony. They were chosen as the winner of this award for their innovative solution to developing a product to help hundreds of holiday parks across the country.
Over the last ten years, the Holiday Park market has enjoyed a massive boom in staycation holidays, fuelled even further by the addition of hot tubs in park cabins and holiday cottages. Darlly's winning entry to this category is the invention of a system that complies with the updated guidance (HSG282) from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) for controlling legionella and other infectious agents in spa pools and hot tubs that included helpful guidance covering their management and operation in business settings.
HSG282 stipulates the requirement for an inline disinfectant feeder. In April 2018, Darlly Europe launched the Sanistream System, a filter with a removable handle and a pod built into the core of the filter which could dispense chlorine or bromine directly into the water flow, most notably this pod could control the measurement of the amount of chlorine/bromine released into the spa, the Darlly innovation was creative and brilliant in its simplicity!
Phil Moseley and Gill Gingell of Darlly Europe commented, "We are highly honoured to have received the Peter Newbery Award for UK Innovation from BISHTA at the 2023 British Pool & Hot Tub Awards. This award recognises Darlly Europe as the overall winner in this category for our Sanistream System, launched in 2018. A filter system with a removable handle and a pod built into the core of the filter can dispense chlorine or bromine directly into the water flow; most importantly, this pod controls the measurement of chlorine/bromine released into the spa. For many holiday parks and holiday let businesses, the Sanistream system provides an innovative yet simple and effective solution in compliance with HSG282. What's more, it cost just a few pounds."
Before entries are submitted to the technical experts and specialist panel of judges from the pool and hot tub industry, all entries are reviewed for their technical merit to assess whether each entry meets industry standards, as a minimum requirement. With 32 categories to be contested, this year's winning and highly commended entries demonstrate the breadth of talent and commitment to quality and service in the industry.
