AN ABANDONED theme park in Scotland could be given a new lease of life after it has hit the market for just £150,000.
Since 2011, Archaeolink Prehistory Park in Aberdeenshire has been closed to the public after dwindling visitor numbers caused it to go out of business.
Archaeolink Prehistory Park has been abandoned since 2011[/caption]
The site was forced to shut after the funding was pulled due to dwindling visitor numbers[/caption]
The site is near Insch, a mile west of the A96[/caption]
The park, near Insch, first opened in 1997 and cost £4million to build, with £2.5million additional funding later coming from Aberdeenshire Council, Grampian Enterprise and Scottish National Heritage.
The failed multi-million-pound tourist attraction, which sits a mile west of the A96, was initially expected to blend local history, fun and education and attract 100,000 visitors a year.
However, before it opened 27 years ago, many shared their concerns about the park and it quickly became a controversial project.
A protest group objected to the site in 1997 during a council committee meeting in Inverurie.
At the time, locals said they were worried about who would fork out for the theme park if it ran into financial difficulties.
After it opened, Aberdeenshire Council spent a further £2.5million in an effort to keep it alive for the next 14 years.
But the local authority noticed that the site was only attracting around 10,500 visitors a year and decided to withdraw its funding.
In 2011, they said that not enough people were visiting the site for it to still be viable and closed its doors for good, according to Press and Journal.
Council chiefs then put the project up for sale for the first time a few years later – but didn’t publish an asking price.
Only one potential buyer showed interest in the site over four years but the site failed to sell.
However, it was eventually snapped up by a mystery buyer in 2023 and the future of the site was left unknown.
But a year later it has been put back up for sale again, this time for offers over £150,000 – less than four per cent of what it cost to open.
Shepherd Chartered Surveyors in charge of the listing and experts have said they hope someone could “breathe new life” into the building.
Shona Boyd, a commercial surveyor at Shepherd, said it is also available for lease as a “unique development opportunity”.
And she said she is hopeful that potential buyers could see all that the “unique space” has to offer.
According to Press and Journal, she said: “The former Arachaeolink structure provides a distinctive opportunity for an incoming occupier.
“We would welcome enquiries of a range of natures, for the whole of the building or in part.
“There is scope to sub-divide the building to form separate units.
“Potential uses include industrial and storage purposes, restaurant, coffee shop, events facility, soft play centre, gym, distillery, brewery, car storage and sales, wedding venue, church, alternative healthcare, music and dance studio, or an entertainment venue.”
Abandoned theme parks in the UK
HERE are just some of the abandoned theme parks in the UK.
The Loudoun Castle Theme Park, near Galston
This was once loved by thrill-seeking Brits – before a tragic death changed everything.
It opened in 1995 but closed in 2010 after dwindling visitor numbers and a horror accident forced it to shut its doors.
Popular attractions included a 140-foot drop tower called the Barnstormer and the Twist n’ Shout roller coaster, but it was hit by tragedy after just a decade in operation.
On July 15, 2007, an 18-year-old ride operator named Mark Blackwood was killed while working on a coaster called the Rat. He fell 80 feet after pushing the coaster free when it became stuck.
The owners of the park were taken to court and, in a two-week trial, found not guilty of failing to provide Mark with proper training and oversight.
Just a few months later, the park was closed because the operating company ran out of funds, with the owner stating that it was no long possible to run the park.
Frontierland, Morecambe
The Lancashire amusement area was left to rot in 2000 and has been an eyesore to townspeople ever since.
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.
Pleasure Island, Cleethorpes
The Lincolnshire park has been shut since 2016.
Dwindling visitor numbers led to the park’s decline and eventual closure with rides being sold off
A description of the site on Shepherd Chartered Surveyors reads: “The overall site comprises land across mixed level and terrain.
“The portion of the site which is being marketed pertains to the middle section where a concrete structure has been erected, which historically formed the Archaeolink exhibition and visitor centre.
“The structure has been designed to meld into its rural setting so that the landscape rolls across.
“Across the roof is grass, which rises like a conical hill similar to its surroundings.
“Pedestrian access to the site is via a pathway that enters a sheltered valley shape up the main entrance.
“Internally the building provides a predominately open plan area which allows for circulation to all parts of the building.
“This unique space lends itself to a variety of commercial uses which can breathe life into the space, we would welcome enquiries of various natures.”
The site has hit the market for the second time[/caption]
And it’s hoped that new owners could give it a new lease of life[/caption]
It is up for sale for offers over £150,000[/caption]
It cost £4million to build back in 1997[/caption]
