The popular 103-year-old UK theme park right on the beach that is set to close
A POPULAR theme park that opened more than 100 years ago is set to close.
Coney Beach Pleasure Park at Porthcawl first opened in 1920, and became a favourite with tourists in the 1940s following WWII.
Events included boxing matches, firework displays and aerial acrobat shows in the 1950s, and it was once of the most popular attractions in the town.
The theme park has more than 20 rides, ranging from dodgems and teacups to rollercoasters including Nessi and Go-Gator.
Free to enter, guests can pay for tokens to go on the rides, with each ride costing four to six tokens.
However, the popular theme park is set to close in the next few years.
The Welsh Government has purchased the land the theme park is built on, as part of a beachfront redevelopment project.
The area is expected to be turned into a new complex of housing, business facilities and leisure facilities, according to local media.
The development will also remove the theme park, with the building expected to start in the next three years.
Hundreds of locals have signed a petition to save the theme park, hoping to make it protected from the regeneration project.
The petition states: “This affects the local Porthcawl community and anyone visiting the area.
“It will affect local business as Porthcawl will be less appealing as a holiday destination and there is a real risk that Porthcawl will become a ‘ghost town’ considering so many businesses rely on the tourism that the pleasure park and surrounding tourist attractions bring in.”
The theme park’s Pat Evans said: “Generations of our family have lived and worked alongside each other here at Coney Beach for over 100 years.
“We will be forever proud of our showman heritage and the memories that we have created for all our customers who have visited us and shared in our love of the ‘fun of the fair’ and the legacy that Coney Beach leaves.”
Porthcawl is also home to a huge Parkdean holiday park, which had a £3.5million revelation last year.
The largest Elvis Festival in the world is also held at Porthcawl every year.
It is also dubbed the “jewel of South Wales” – here is what it’s like.