Council mothballs £320k visitor attraction

The attraction may be reopened at a later date, the council has said

The future of a £320,000 adventure attraction launched in Blackpool in 2015 is under review after demand dropped off following the Covid pandemic.

Blackpool Council funded the high ropes course in Stanley Park through borrowing but it has been mothballed since closing at the end of summer 2023.

It did not reopen this summer following its usual winter closure, and will remain mothballed until a further review expected next spring, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A council spokesperson said it had not been closed permanently, with consideration being given to reopening it as part of a package of adventure activities at the park, including more use of the lake.

'Bookings dropped'

The structure next to Blackpool Sports Centre, which rises to 11 metres in height, includes a zip-wire, bridges, a rock climbing wall and obstacles.

A council spokesperson said it had been popular with schools and community groups as well as casual users prior to the pandemic.

They said when the course was able to reopen many of these organisations and users "found themselves in a different financial situation and the number of bookings we received dropped considerably".

The council was also faced with increased operational cost pressures, the spokesperson said.

"In order to prevent any further losses, the high ropes were effectively mothballed pending possible investment into outdoor activities at Stanley Park," they added.

Another adventure attraction which would also have included zip wires and had been proposed for part of the Stanley Park Golf Course was also axed in recent times.

The controversial plans to build a £45m adventure park called Adrenalin World met with local opposition and were dropped by the council and the developer in November 2022, with rising costs partly blamed for the decision.

Those proposals, first unveiled in August 2019, included 150 holiday cottages and zip-wires on the east side of East Park Drive.