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Thorpe Park continues to have a very promising future, judging by what's detailed on their Medium Term Development Plan. This plan has seen two submissions to Runnymede Borough Council; one at the end of 2009 and one in July 2010.
The plan was the first of its kind since the MTDPs submitted back
in 2003, which detailed the building of Stealth and SAW: The
Ride, alongside the relocation of Samurai and installation of
Slammer and Rush. It also boasted a further round ride, the installation
of a second Detonator tower and a Lake Show, all of which did
not happen, proving that these guidelines are no guarantee of
what might actually go ahead.
The
current MDTP, which details plans for the Park from 2010 - 2016,
is still subject to environmental screenings and council approval,
but it does give us a valuable insight into what the future has
in store...
In
line with Merlin Entertainments' investment strategy, Thorpe
Park plan to build a new major attraction every three years,
most probably with filler attractions in the years in between.
Proposed rides include:
- Roller
Coaster in 2012 (now open as The Swarm), not exceeding 40 metres (131 feet) high, located
either at points C or E on the below diagrams (later confirmed as point C).
- Roller
Coaster in 2015, not exceeding 50 metres (164 feet) high, located
at point A on the below diagrams.
- 4
- 5 flat rides. The diagrams below show 9 possible locations
for these rides, but only 4 or 5 will be used for rides
between 2010-2016. One of the locations has already been used - Octopus Gardens made way for Storm Surge in 2011.
And in addition to all this:
- Open
Air Stage next to Stealth in 2012 (didn't happen in 2012, but not ruled out for later years).
- Refurbished
entrance to the Park.
- Extensions
to Pizza Hut, Burger King, Shops, Nemesis Workshop and a new
Fastrack booth.
A permanent Thorpe Park Hotel has been an idea on the cards for many years. The
latest MTDP noted that
in April 2009 Runnymede Borough Council approved plans submitted back in 2006 for a
resort Hotel. Thorpe Park have been cautious about this investment however, partly due to the current poor economic climate.
In 2013, Thorpe Park sought to test the water for the overnight stay market and opted to build a temporary Hotel (The Crash Pad) as a trial for a permanent Hotel. Whether the plans for the permanent Hotel will be put into action largely depends on the outcome of this trial. For our full feature on the proposed permanent Hotel, click below:
The
2003 MDTP projected an increase in visitors from 1.4 million/year
to approximately 2 million a year over the period 2004 - 2009 (the Park didn't quite make this, getting 1.87m visitors in 2009).
The 2009 MTDP projects an increase of only 200,000
extra visitors/year by the end of the period 2010 - 2016, but
this may be partly due to the fact that Thorpe Park does not
have the capacity to take many more.
2009 Submission
2010 Submission
To view the 2010
MTDP, you can find it at Runnymede Borough Council here. To
view the previous 2003 MTDP, go here. |
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