05 December 2024

Lagoon Activities at The Helix: Home of the Kelpies 2025-26

About Us

Helix Park welcomed over 900,000 people this past year and is still the place to be, having been voted "Best Day Out" at the 2023 VisitScotland National Thistle Awards.

On site, we have a Visitor Centre with an exhibition space, café and gift shop; we also run tours of The Kelpies from here. Within the Park we have The Hide - our dog-friendly sheltered picnic area, a dog wash facility, play area and Splash Play and an events space (the Great Lawn). There is also a large pond known as the lagoon, a nuttery, small areas of woodland and wildflower meadows.

With our excellent customer service and dedication to sustainability, we are looking for like-minded individuals, social enterprises or small businesses to join us.

The Opportunity

There is an opportunity for a suitably qualified and experienced operator to offer activities at the lagoon from 28 March 2025. This will help us animate this area of the park and attract more people to enjoy everything the park has to offer.

The Helix Park Lagoon is perfect for family-friendly water-based activities:

• The lagoon is approximately 180m diameter and up to 2m deep.
• Jetty – adjacent to The Hide building and toilets.
• Our timber cabin adjacent to the lagoon is ideal for storing equipment and could be used as a booking office
• Over the last 2 years, the lagoon water quality has consistently met minimum EU bathing standards.

You should be aware that we also offer organised groups or clubs the opportunity to hire the lagoon for their kayak, canoe, paddleboard or outdoor swimming sessions. We will advise the lagoon activity operator in advance when such hires are scheduled to take place.

Activity Ideas 
The lagoon is suitable for model boats, pedal boats, kayaks, canoes, rowing boats, etc and may offer potential for stand-up paddleboarding and outdoor swimming. You may wish to offer boat hire for members of the public or run pre-booked group sessions on the lagoon. 

The suggested activities are just the tip of the iceberg! We're open to other interactive water-based activities with the key point being that they should encourage visitors to explore and enjoy all that the park has to offer. 

We will provide monthly water test results to help you choose which activities you wish to offer members of the public.  You must complete a suitable risk assessment for each activity you plan to offer. 

You should be aware that whilst we carry out the monthly water testing, sudden increases in bacteria levels are uncontrollable and blue-green algae is a natural and unpreventable event that could happen at the lagoon. In the event of these occurring, Falkirk Council cannot be held liable for any resulting restrictions or shut-down of water-based activities that may be required.

Our Hours of Operation
As an operator, you'll have the freedom to choose your hours of operation, which can be any time between 8 am and 10 pm, seven days a week, from April to October. We'll also consider days and hours of operation outside of peak season.

In the peak season (April to October), we are open as follows:

• The Hide sheltered picnic area: 9am – 4pm but we are happy to consider later opening hours
• Toilets: 9am to 8pm.
• Car park: 8am – 10pm.
• Visitor Centre: 9am to 5pm.

Our Expectations
We expect all operators at The Helix to provide a 5-star customer experience for every visitor and meet the following minimum standards:

Exceeding Customer Expectations

Our reputation for delivering excellent customer service is vital for us as a 5-star visitor attraction, and for encouraging returning visitors. We therefore expect all operators on site to deliver an excellent customer experience for every visitor. 

All staff on site, including 3rd party operators are expected to wear name badges and uniforms, and be professional, courteous, and friendly at all times.

Value for Money

We expect all activities on site to offer our visitors with an experience that is good value for money. You should therefore speak to us before you begin operating to agree your suggested prices. You must also display your fees and charges, and receipts must be available.

Being Sustainable 

Our green credentials are important to us, and we are looking for activities that tie in with our Gold Award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme and our Green Flag for the park. We have a diverse range of habitats on site, and any activity you provide should be carefully considered and managed to minimize any potential impact on the wildlife and on our visitors' enjoyment of the park.

At The Helix, we're committed to sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint. That's why we're looking for self-propelled, battery-powered/electric or wind-powered activities only. No motorized activities, unless they're electric or battery-powered, will be permitted. 

What can we offer?

• A great location in an award-winning park.
• The attached plan shows all the lit paths within The Helix.
• There are staff on site from 8am until 10pm during the peak season (April to October).

Restrictions

• No motorised activities (except electric or battery-powered) - as part of our commitment to sustainability and reducing our site operation’s carbon footprint, no generators should be used.
• Vehicle access by agreement with the Helix Management Team.
• There may be times (for example, during events and event set-up/take-down) where activity will be restricted and/or cannot be operated. The Helix team will give operators as much notice of these organised events as possible.
• There may be times that, due to water quality test results, the operator may wish to limit the activities offered to the public, or temporarily suspend water-based activities. Falkirk Council will not be held liable for any loss of income to the operator for closures taken on the grounds of health and safety.

Income
The Helix: Home of the Kelpies is a thriving tourist attraction, and we're offering a unique opportunity for social enterprises or small businesses to become part of our success story. With around 900,000 visitors in 2024/25, there's great potential for income. We expect to receive a minimum of 20% of total income generated by activity operators. This agreement is subject to review and negotiation beyond Year 1.

So, if you're passionate about creating unforgettable experiences for visitors and committed to sustainability, then The Helix is the perfect place for you. Let's work together to make 2025 a summer to remember!

How will we choose activity operators for The Helix?
Your submission will go through a 2-stage process.  The first stage is for you to submit a proposal in writing to community@thehelix.co.uk by 12pm on Wednesday 22nd January 2025. 

STAGE 1 – TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL

Please provide as much detail as you can, and make sure you tell us:

1. What activity(s) you intend to provide.
2. When you expect to operate (months, days and times).
3. How your activity will be delivered.
4. How will you ensure a high-quality customer experience.
5. How you will ensure your activity is delivered sustainably.
6. What site preparation is required, who will be responsible for carrying this out, and how you will ensure all works are done safely and to an acceptable standard.
7. What site reinstatement you will carry out at the end of the agreement and how you will ensure all works are done safely and to an acceptable standard.
8. Your communication strategy – please provide details of your proposed communication methods, in particular:
   1. How will you communicate with the Helix management team and Helix Park staff members, and how often will this take place?
   2. How will you communicate, market and promote your activity with Helix Park visitors?
   3. How will you market and promote your activity with prospective visitors?
9. Details of your proposed complaints procedures and how you will deal with issues that might arise during operation at The Helix.
10. Expected income for Falkirk Council.
11. Provide evidence of Public Liability Insurance showing a minimum of £10M cover.
12. Provide a risk assessment for each of your activities.

Your proposal will be assessed and scored against the criteria detailed below. Those operators with proposals that meet our criteria will be invited for interview with members of Helix Management Team (Stage 2 of the process).

A final decision about which operator(s) can set up activities at Helix Park will be made following the interview process.

Download the Scoring Criteria here.