Blackpool Stanley Park Golf Club: Plans for £45m development

More than 7,500 people have signed a petition against the plans

Plans to build 250 holiday lodges and an adventure zone on a municipal golf course have been unveiled.

However, the £45m investment would cut Blackpool's Golf Club course, in Stanley Park, to nine holes.

Holmes Investment Properties (HIP) has been revealed as the preferred developer to build the UK's first Adrenalin World attraction on the site.

Initial plans have been submitted to Blackpool Council but they have angered the club's members and residents.

'Boon for town'

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reports discussions were held behind closed doors while the procurement process was under way.

Entrepreneur and former tennis professional David Lloyd is behind the Adrenalin World attraction - set for East Park Drive on land between Blackpool Victoria Hospital and Salisbury Woodland. It would offer activities including zip-wires, go-karting, themed mini-golf, wall climbing and virtual reality rooms.

The west side of the site would be retained as a nine-hole course with investment in the practice facilities and redevelopment of the clubhouse, said HIP.

Labour councillor Mark Smith, cabinet member for business, enterprise and job creation, said it was a "fantastic investment" that would create up to 100 jobs.

Mr Lloyd said it would be a "great boon for the town" offering "all manner of activities for all age groups".

Blackpool Park Golf Club (BPGC) said it had submitted a bid to run the course.

"We are devastated at the potential loss... of the only 18-hole municipal golf course on the Fylde," said Laura Greenall, secretary and manager of BPGC.

Councillor Tony Williams, leader of the Conservative opposition group, said there should be a public consultation before anything is done with the "valuable land".

More than 7,500 people have signed a petition against the proposals.

If a planning application is approved, the attraction is set to open in early 2021.