When J.G purchased Dreamland.

[Dave H.]

When Mr Godden first purchased Dreamland,didn't he do so with a Grant of somekind from somewhere? What is the situation regarding this,would that money have had to have been repaid? Happy Christmas.Dave.

[ricardobugsy]

I don't believe that the grant was used to purchase the park.
There was an EU grant for maintaining the scenic railway.
Whether Mr G knew about this prior to purchasing the park I don't know.
How much of it was actually spent on the scenic, I also couldn't tell you.

You would expect a new owner to invest in new rides and attractions, however Mr.G. immediately set about removing Dreamland signature rides such as the Looping Star, Mary Rose and Water Chute.
I could tell things were not right when I visited back in 1996.

[ricardobugsy]

Sorry,
I stand corrected. The EU grant WAS given for refurbishing the park when Godden purchased Dreamland.
Well, I never. When you add to that the money raised from the sale of some of the major rides then the purchase of the park must of cost him next to nothing.

[David Ellis]

These EU grants normally have a time limit within which money may have to be repaid if the assets bought or improved with the money are sold or used for purposes other than what the grant was intended for. However, I guess this time limit was over a few years ago, so I doubt any grant is due back.

David.

[RowBot]

http://www.joylandbooks.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=655
if you look there I did meantion this morning about the grant

[porterm]

Interesting comments there. I seem to remember commenting a while back how all I really noticed to herald the new Godden era of Dreamland was the new "cosmeticly" resurfaced ground areas. Also there was a rather good, I must say, transformation of the park's interior entrance "tunnel" (theme-painted wall murial style effects) and a modernised low ceiling look for the old former "haunted" ice skating rink building just before the exit on the left.

To give Mr Godden some credit I was pleasantly surprised at the inclusion of the American style mini golf course on the former Looping Star site (obviously most would have rather welcomed a decent thrill ride though I guess). Non the less, it was a rather surprising addition to the park, which I believe was billing itself towards a family friendly fit. The Pirates style indoor water ride, "Castaway" was also quite good, although rather basic (compared to Disney). The only thing was its immediately missable entrance tunnel front location on the right. (Perhaps another good reason for its rather swift closure). I suppose the EU grant went someway to add these attractions/ features, but I tend to agree that the whole "package" deal the owner got must have been very attractive, in my opinion. Suffice to say I would never condone the removal of the park's former key attractions, like the Big Wheel and Water Chute, especially as they were never actually replaced by any new key attractions.

All the above never changed my opinion about the "New Dreamland" presented by its new owner in 1996. I was left with a striking desire to never again visit the park when I made that first Godden-owned visit in 1996. My friends promptly commented on how depressing the place then looked, despite the "cosmetic" improvements. God knows what most the general public had felt on their visits that year, or thereafter. If it hadn't been for an American friend of mine wishing to make a visit in about 1998, I would probably have never returned again unless a radical transformation had suddenly occurred in 1997. Rather ironically, not knowing the park's past, he actually said he quite liked the place, which reminded him of New York's Coney Island in its current guise.

Just my tuppence worth as they say.

Martin