A UK theme park has laid abandoned for 25 years but now the hopes of its revival spark anew as a huge transformation could be underway.
Frontierland was left to rot in 2000 and has been an eyesore to Morecambe townspeople since then – but it could become a fairground again.
The abandoned theme park had a rich history of over 90 years in service, but sadly had to shut down permanently at the beginning of the millennia.
The site lays bare and empty, with the local council now trying to revive it back to its glory days.
Lancaster City council acquired the land in 2021 and invited interested parties to submit development plans for it.
The council hopes the developer will propose an “exciting idea” which can transform the site in the next 18 months.
Lancaster City Councillor Joanne Ainscough told BBC: “We have done an expression of interest and the majority of developers came forward with hotels and housing, and that’s not really the inspiration we want.
“We want something that’s more exciting.
“If somebody came along with a really brilliant idea for a fairground, why not?
“But it has to be something that gives the council some money back on its investment but also gives something for both visitors and locals.”
Ainscough said that the majority of locals expressed interest in having a leisure site in place of the former theme park.
She added that the hopes are that the building on site begins in the next 12 to 18 months.
“The council does not want this to be sat around for another five, 10 years.
“The people of Morecambe have had to put up with this white elephant for a very long time. We want it to be done as quickly as possible, ” Ainscough said.
The theme park first opened in 1906 and drew countless of visitors during its long 90-year-old service.
It has changed multiple names and owners until finally settling at Frontierland in 1987 in a bid to attract more visitors.
One of the most iconic rides, the “Sky Ride”, saw the cable car system fly over the park from Morecambe’s promenade.
In its 12 years of operating, Frontierland would regularly add new, exciting rides to its number of attractions.
The park was even once visited by Margaret Thatcher in 1997 when she named one of the horses on the carousel after herself.
The Frontierland began to slowly die until it completely withered away by the end of the century.
The park closed its doors forever on November 7, 1999 but was demolished a year later.
Most of the rides were sold off with majority of the shops dismantled.
Little was left of the park with the area deserted and turned into a ghost town.
