Frontierland has sat abandoned in a run-down Lancashire seaside town for more than 20 years. Most of the former rides have been torn down in the decades since the theme park closed.
However, parts of the Wild West-themed park close to Morecambe Bay remain frozen in time to this day. Earlier this week, local residents were given hope that the derelict amusement park could see a new lease of life.
The local Lancaster City Council bought the land in 2021 and this week moved forward with plans to revamp the site. After buying the land, the council said the site had been “left to decay long enough” and could “kick-start” the town’s reinvention.
A seaside amusement park has operated on the site since 1906. The site was transformed into Frontierland in 1987 to beat dwindling tourist numbers.
At its peak, it was visited by thousands every year.
However, this revamp only lasted 13 years before its closure in 2000. Since the closure, nearly all of the rides were demolished or dismantled and sold on.
Rides such as the ‘Rattler’ was moved to the Pleasure Beach, while ‘The Wild Mouse’ and the ‘Chair-o-Planes’ were moved to Pleasureland Southport. The attraction’s popular log flume was also dismantled to make room for a phone mast.
One section of the park was bought by Morrisons for a new supermarket, while Homebase, JJB Sports and Next were built on other parts of the site. It is hoped that the redevelopment will breathe new life into the seaside town and attract more summer visitors.
For the past couple of years, the council opened submissions for ideas from the public and investors.
Around eight proposals were submitted and the council announced this week that it was looking for a partner to work on “leisure-led” ideas for the site.
A board including senior councillors has been formed to oversee the project, “aligning developers’ expressions of interest with the council and public intentions”.
Plans are also in the pipeline for an ambitious £100million botanical attraction similar to Cornwall’s Eden Project.
