The park's owner has admitted that he is only doing it for the development land value, and not because the park isn't viable (see the Save Dreamland News page:
http://www.joylandbooks.com/scenicrailway/news.htm).
Now if you look at the FAQ page on the Save Dreamland website (
http://www.joylandbooks.com/scenicrailway/faq.htm), you will notice that the Local Plan makes it clear that the Council will not allow Dreamland to be redeveloped. If that is what the Plan says (and it is a new plan), you have to ask yourself, why is the council disregarding it?
But that isn't all. PPG15 states that "The Secretaries of State would not expect consent to demolition to be given simply because redevelopment is economically more attractive to the developer than repair and re-use of a historic building..." Yet that seems to be the only reason for the current proposals.
It really does make you wonder what Dreamland would be like operated by somebody else. Compare Dreamland to nearby(ish) Adventure Island - where are all the cafes, the gift shops, where is the website, where are the press releases and adverts, where is the coach and group booking department, where is the investment? If it closes now because the council is too afraid to enforce its own policies, then it would be a real shame. They would only have themselves to blame.