Joyland Books

Like Southport and Margate before, the famous funfair at Rhyl will close due to the decline in the domestic holiday market.
AT about 6pm on Sunday, September 30, this year, the ghost train at Rhyl funfair will echo to the sound of delighted screams for the last time in the amusement park's 96-year history. No more will the waltzers spin through space to the sound of eardrum-bursting pop or the roller- coaster race to a stomach-churning dip before beginning another terrifying ascent.
For generations of children from cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham, who enjoyed summer holidays in the resort from its 1960s heyday onwards, Rhyl was synonymous with its Ocean Beach amusement park.
But in common with funfairs in resort towns all over the UK, Rhyl has been facing challenging times brought on by a domestic holiday market in decline and competition from other forms of entertainment.
In South Wales, the funfairs at Barry Island and Porthcawl have been grappling with the same difficulties.
Rhyl funfair owner Harold Robinson is in the process of agreeing a sale of the site in the town's west end to development firm Modus Properties.
The scheme, known as the "Ocean Plaza" development, will see one of North Wales' most historic landmarks replaced by four blocks of flats and a hotel.
Around 4,000 square yards of office space will also be built, for small to medium-sized regional companies.
Architect Richard Elsdon of Building Design Partnership of Manchester, said the total cost of the project could exceed £85m.
Mr Robinson said, "Officially, the last day will be Sunday, September 30. Southport's funfair went in September last year and they had similar trade and amusements to Rhyl. We've also seen it happen at Margate.
"Numerous things have affected our seasonal business, but most seaside resorts are facing the same problems brought on by things like cheap holidays abroad.
"Then there's the competition from things like indoor amusements - but everything from out-of-town shopping to Sky Sports has played a part.
"It has been becoming more and more obvious that things had to change. We're struggling while some resorts have fared a little bit better."
Mr Robinson, 65, bought the funfair from First Leisure nine years ago, but has operated rides there since he was 15.
"It will be a sad day when we finally close, because we've all been brought up here - my family as well."
But on the whole the funfair boss believes the move is right for Rhyl - a town whose west end was named the second most deprived area in Wales, after Butetown, in a 2005 Assembly Index of Deprivation.
Mr Robinson believes it is now time for seaside towns to look beyond building prosperity around a declining holiday trade.
He said, "West Rhyl and the town itself will benefit. We just couldn't go on as we were. The whole town needs this."
The owner of Barry Island Pleasure Park, Ian Rogers, said his funfair has struggled to recover since the nearby Butlins holiday camp was closed around 10 years ago.
"Everything has hit us - the cheap holidays abroad especially. And since Butlins was closed down, it's made an impact on the people coming here and looking to stay.
"There used to be 5,000 to 10,000 people staying at Butlins at any one time.
"Now this place has turned into a daytrippers' paradise.
"Just about everything you can stack against a business has happened to us and given us a problem."
But Mr Rogers said, though the Pleasure Park is no longer attracting the visitor numbers it did a decade or two ago, it remains popular with families from Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea.
"All businesses are facing difficult times - supermarkets are taking business away from towns.
"Our business is very much dependent on the weather and if the sun stays out long enough you get people flocking here.
"The summer before last we had a fantastic year with thousands on the beach."
Chief executive of the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions, Colin Dawson, said the decline of a funfair is often a reflection of the wider deterioration of a resort town itself.
He said a lack of investment from local authorities in resort towns means some have lost the gloss and sparkle that is crucial to attracting visitors.
"If you look at the condition of the coastal areas themselves, they are often an indicator of the condition of the funfair.
"Funfairs are at the mercy of local authorities and the amount they spend on resorts. Funfairs become supplementary to that."
At the height of their popularity in the 1950s and '60s, seaside resorts were not competing for our attention with Sunday trading, free entry to museums and the plethora of other entertainments that have sidelined resorts.
Mr Dawson added, "The demands on funfairs to compete with other attractions have become greater and greater.
"There are numerous opportunities to do other things now - whether it be walking around a local garden centre or taking advantage of the free entry to museums.
"And the holiday market is now primarily made up of day visitors. The holidaymakers who would go year-in and year-out for days at a time are not there any more - it's all day visits."
The House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee said recently that many of the country's seaside towns are now locked in a downward spiral of decline.
They are characterised by a combination of physical isolation, high levels of deprivation and poor housing, said the committee.
Often they suffered from a "skewed demographic profile", with young people leaving to find jobs elsewhere, while the arrival of older people buying homes for their retirement put health and social services under pressure.
But Pat Evans, the owner of Porthcawl's Coney Beach funfair, said though attendance figures there have fallen by around 50% in 10 years, the business does have a future.
Visitor numbers have fallen from around 1.2 million in the mid-1980s to between 600,000 and 700,000.
Mr Evans, whose family has owned the fair for several generations, said, "My grandfather Charley Evans and his brother Marshall came here in 1918 for six weeks in the summer and then came back the following Easter and we've never moved since.
"I'm convinced good seaside towns have a future. People are traditionalists and they like doing what their grandparents did and we rely very heavily on repeat trade. We get the same people, month in month out.
"A substantial difference between us and the other parks is that this is a park run by families for families.
"All our tenants are families who have been here since the 1960s. It's not a big company run by managers who just open and close the business with no personal touch.
Mr Evans is so determined to earn his living in the same manner as his forebears, he is committed to investing in new attractions.
"We're looking to put in new rides and redevelop the site - we're just dealing with planning issues at the moment.
"We hit our trough 10 years ago and we're steadily climbing back up now. The year before last was our best for 10 years."
Mr Evans, whose family lost their ownership of the fair in the depression of the 1930s only to get it back 40 years later, added, "We're still popular with a lot of working men's clubs that have been coming for generations from places like Reading, Birmingham, Swindon and Kidderminster.
"But our bread-and-butter audience is based in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and the Valleys."
Even Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which last year pulled in 5.73 million visitors and is the UK's most popular tourist attraction, has not been able to stop the rot.
Despite investing up to £32m in new rides since 1994, reports suggest BPB has done little more than break even in recent years.
Owned by the Thompson family, the park is the second largest in Europe, and at the height of its popularity was regarded as more successful than New York's Coney Island.
Before Walt Disney started its first theme park in 1955, the company's managers were sent on a spying mission to Blackpool.
It's also one of the few remaining family-owned theme parks in a sector increasingly dominated by American corporate giants.
The Thompson family owned the now defunct Southport Pleasureland, where it is said to have invested £15m, after visitor numbers collapsed from 2.2 million to half-a-million, following the introduction of a £2 entrance fee.
The company has also sold off Myrtle Beach, its US theme park, and closed Morecambe's Frontierland.
But despite BPB's problems, the Thompson family clearly believe it has a future as they continue to pour millions into new rides.
The park's new £8m rollercoaster Infusion, which runs entirely over water to give riders the impression they will end up submerged, should open this month.

Is there a record stuck?

In Rhyl, over the last few years, they've taken the sea front and added massive concrete edifices. It looks much tidier than it did before, and utterly hideous. It has also failed completely to rejuvenate Rhyl's economy.

The horrible flats full of dolites and skag heads around Ocean Beach may also have something to do with the lack of people attending the fair. That and the lack of investment in the fair itself (I'm sure the Ski-Jump was operating with the same set of tyres (well, I say tyres, the was barely any rubber on them) as it was when I visited and rode it in 1980).

Obviously there's a vicious cycle. If the park doesn't get money, it can't re-invest, so it appeals less to people. Though the ride-operators swearing at me and my family also put a bit of a dampener on the day.

So, they're build flats... Opposite the skag heads. That's a lovely neighbourhood to move into, I can see them selling well (as rental accommodation for more dolites and skag heads).

And an Asda... a mile away from another Asda... At least people wont have to go QUITE as far for their shopping???

In the mean time, Tir Prince and Towyn thrive. Tourists flock there and constantly complement the town and resort.

Of course, this has been covered time and again, and there'll be no counter argument made or anythnig... Yawn...

I thought Bob's spelling had vastly improved on his last post. Looks like the item was lifted directly from this news feature;

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk

I saw it sent to the European Coaster Club's members' e-mail list yesterday, rather ironically.

Martin


Edited by porf - Link shortened to avoid need for horizontal scrolling.

Bob, there's nothing wrong with using sources to support your argument (in fact using sources is normally a very good thing), however to not cite where you got it is straight forward plagarism.

As with a lot of journalism it does seem to put a bit of a spin on things. For example it doesn't mention that over the past century society has become more affluent, and therefore tourist attractions should be able to survive on less visitors because each can afford to spend more.

"There are numerous opportunities to do other things now - whether it be walking around a local local garden centre or taking advantage of the free entry to museums

I find it hard to believe that the sort of people who a decade ago would have been visiting an amusement park, are now prefering to spend their time fathing about shops such as garden centres. I also like the empahsis on free museums and garden cntres rather than paid attractions such as national Trust gardens.

I doubt the welsh are as stingy as the journalist is making out. 'Why pay for an amusement park when there's freebies?', yes said the kinds, we'll go to the garden centre so we don't have to depart with our cash. All in all they seem to feel that no one wants tourist attactions. People only want shops and houses. How very convenient.

<cough>jerk<cough>

"There are numerous opportunities to do other things now - whether it be walking around a local local garden centre or taking advantage of the free entry to museums

I find it hard to believe that the sort of people who a decade ago would have been visiting an amusement park, are now prefering to spend their time fathing about shops such as garden centres. I also like the empahsis on free museums and garden cntres rather than paid attractions such as national Trust gardens. quote]


I think you misunderstand the report. The main problem has been the steep decline in the Uk holiday Market over the last 10 years some resorts have seen a decline of over 50%. Another cause of decline had ben the opening of large well located Theme Parks they probably account for a further 20% decline in the seaside resort market. The other factors metioned such as Garden Centres Museums etc would probably account for about another 5% loss.

There has been some increase in the day trip market but much of that is to Shopping Villages, Garden Centres & Museums etc. It is possible that that the increase in Day Trips may benefit the seaside resorts by upto 5% but its very weather dependent.

So overall Seaside resorts have seen up to a 70% decline in business. The 70% is very much worst case a typical resort may have seen a loss of 50% over the last 10 years. Those sort of market share losses cannot be absorbed. Hence the significant number of closures at seaside resorts and those that remain have scaled back operations and are lucky to break even.

Whether you could succesfully get a Them Park off the ground at a Seaside Resort I doubt. Poor location is a big problem with most resorts and finding a location for a Seaside Theme Park is Another. At minimum you need a 50 Acre Site.

Sources for all those figures Bob?

You can't pretend to be an academic without backing this all up with serious research... and giving your sources.

Otherwise we might simply think you were making it all up. Surely not Bob?

I hardly think a garbled newspaper report from a not exactly national can be something I have great deal of faith in to be accurate, either.

Darren Devine - Western Mail. Not exactly Simon Jenkins in the Groan is it?

PS - this week I visited the Tate for the Hogarth exhibition (I paid), the V and A for a free exhibition about James 'Athenian' Stuart for which I would have paid for entry if it had been asked, a talk in aid of a conservation charity by Griff Rhys Jones at the Cadogan Hall for which I paid, although I could have had free entry, a church which was free to view, a National Trust property to which I had free entry as a member (for which I pay) and I spent cash in the shop and cafe and on some plants, and spent a day in Southwold, a traditional seaside resort in East Anglia. The latter didn't have an amusement park sadly, or I would have enjoyed the rides equally as much as I enjoyed the other activities of the week, especially if there had been something as wonderful as the Scenic Railway to ride. I did, however, walk along the seafront, and visit the pier. I lost cash playing machines in the very traditional amusement arcade and also visited the not so traditional arcade:

http://www.underthepier.com/

watch the movies:

http://www.underthepier.com/06_new.htm



spent rather a lot in fact in the attractions and cafes on the pier. I ate in the town, and bought things in the shops.

There seemed to be many, many other people, adults and children, doing the same. Two of us here thought it one of the highlights of our week.

And then of course Bob there are stories like this from December 2006:

http://business.edp24.co.uk/content/Guide/Tourism/story.aspx?brand=BIZOnline&category=gTourism&tBrand=BIZOnline&tCategory=gTourism&itemid=NOED06%20Dec%202006%2008%3A26%3A36%3A610]

All I can say Bob is who is Ben? and what are Them parks?

Unfortunately money talks. If as Bob puts it seasides have declined over the last 10 years, this is probably due to owners of tourist land selling it on to developers knowing they will make a killing. Once these attractions have gone the seaside towns decline - not rocket science Bob!

Cheryl O'Carroll wrote:Unfortunately money talks. If as Bob puts it seasides have declined over the last 10 years, this is probably due to owners of tourist land selling it on to developers knowing they will make a killing. Once these attractions have gone the seaside towns decline - not rocket science Bob!

With any business you need to make a profit. Unfortunately at nearly all resorts they are lucky to breakeven. Most lose money. No money means no investment and the parks become rundown. Eventually they have to give up as they cannot stand the losses any longer.
Even the once might Blackpool is struggling. Yes it still gets Millions of visitors but it does not make a profit.

I have said this before if you believe that Seaside Amusement Parks are such a gold mine form a company and get a skilled management team in to run it for you. Once you have formed the company you can

Bob wrote:

Cheryl O'Carroll wrote:Unfortunately money talks. If as Bob puts it seasides have declined over the last 10 years, this is probably due to owners of tourist land selling it on to developers knowing they will make a killing. Once these attractions have gone the seaside towns decline - not rocket science Bob!

With any business you need to make a profit. Unfortunately at nearly all resorts they are lucky to breakeven. Most lose money. No money means no investment and the parks become rundown. Eventually they have to give up as they cannot stand the losses any longer.
Even the once might Blackpool is struggling. Yes it still gets Millions of visitors but it does not make a profit.

I have said this before if you believe that Seaside Amusement Parks are such a gold mine form a company and get a skilled management team in to run it for you. Once you have formed the company you can

Has someone turned the electricity off?

More sweeping assertions Bob...

Bob wrote:Even the once might Blackpool is struggling. Yes it still gets Millions of visitors but it does not make a profit.

You've hit a very large nail on the head there Bob without realising it.

How can a park, with over 5 million visitors a year fail to make money??? Alton Towers manages on less than half that number, and people have to travel to the middle of no-where to get there!

Adventure Island seems to be doing very well do, as is Brighton Pier and Fantasy Island.

Could it possibly be that there has been a catalogue of poor management decisions, and poor/wrong investment at Blackpool over the last 10 or so years which has caused their decline? People go, but without new attractions to make them reach into their pocket (and rapidly rising costs for a day there), they see no point in investing a day at the Pleasure Beach.

I used to visit the Pleasure Beach without fail 2 or 3 times a year. As the classic rides me and the family loved became SBNO (Whip, Turtle Chase and Vikingar) and eventually we removed, with no replacement in site, I've lost the will to return. Before the Southport incident, I was down to maybe one visit a year, sometimes skipping a year.

As much as I disagree with Southport closing, I've always been supportive of Traumatizer moving there, as they needed a new coaster to bring people in desperately. While I can see why Valhalla was built, it was a poor move, as people wont come to go on a wet ride, or return specifically for it. Coasters have that appeal and places like Blackpool and Alton will die without new coaster investments every 3 or 4 years at least (even if it's just a small one). Blackpool have gone 13 years, and seen visitor numbers (and profits) drop in that time. This year I'll bet they see an increase in both.

It's all about the right investment, in the right product at the right time. Investment is required though, people wont return without something new to entice them. Sometimes local councils help or hinder with support, or by ignoring the fairgrounds. Other times it's poor management which causes the problem. The fact is though, the people are there to make the businesses work, as long as you have something to offer them.

I totally agree with regard to Traumatizer. Some people will see it as a totally new ride not even knowing of its existence at Southport. Some will know its come from there also but not really care.

It will be a big new ride that has inversions which in a lot of peoples eyes is a scary/thrilling/fun ride that will make peopel want to come and ride it.

I have also seen the ride in place and it looks very impressive even without the themeing.

Also I bet BPB doesn't shift many season passes @£189.60 compared to Tussauds @£95.00.