Frontierland: Council calls for clarity on theme park site plan

Frontierland closed in 2000 after more than 13 years of trading

A council has called on developers to "be open" about their plans for the site of a derelict theme park after time to complete the project ran out.

Planning permission for the £17m redevelopment of the deserted Frontierland in Morecambe has now expired, Lancaster City Council said.

Plans to set up a retail park, hotel and pub were approved in 2015.

But the council said the site remains a "visual blight on the town" and "there can be no more delay".

• The fun stopped here: England's derelict theme parks

A theme park had existed on the land since 1906, with Frontierland opening in 1987 in an attempt to boost dwindling trade.

It closed in 2000 and rides were later sold and transported all over the world.

Frontierland has been derelict since it closed in 2000

Councillor John Reynolds, cabinet member for planning, called on developers Opus North to "be open with the residents of Morecambe about long-term plans and a timescale for completion".

He said: "The council wants to make it clear that there can be no more delay.

"Any new proposals must be high-quality, deliverable and seek to create places for people, rather than places that are dominated by car parking."

A spokesman for Opus North said the company was meeting with the council next Wednesday to "determine what happens next".

Site owner Morrisons has been contacted for comment.