UK’s oldest theme park Wicksteed Park which opened in 1921 collapses into administration

The UK’s oldest theme park has gone into administration in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic – a year before its celebrated its 100th birthday.  

The trust behind 99-year-old Wicksteed Park in Kettering, Northants, has called in administrators to the leisure site, which first opened in 1921. 

Wicksteed Charitable Trust has blamed the financial strain of the Covid-19 pandemic which it said had resulted in ‘months of uncertainty and difficulty’. 

The trust, which hopes to keep the free playgrounds and parkland open, is aiming to form a new smaller company with the aim of raising funds to re-open the park for its centenary. 

A total of 115 staff, 48 of which are permanent, have lost their jobs as a result of the move. 

Oliver Wicksteed, chairman of the trust, said: ‘We are all devastated by what has happened and the effect this will have on our staff, their families and our visitors.

‘We fully appreciate the effect this decision will have on staff members who have already been through months of uncertainty and difficulty due to Covid-19 and we are working hard to ensure they have access to the support and advice they need at this time.’

The new smaller company has been set up to try to raise funds to keep the park operating until next spring in time for its 100th birthday.

Local residents have also set up fundraisers to support the cause and one Justgiving page has raised over £1,500 in less than 24 hours. 

The trust said it will try to keep the free playgrounds and parkland open and the pavilion for forthcoming bookings, when government guidelines allow indoor events.

Mr Wicksteed, who is the grandson of Charles Wicksteed, who opened the park 99 years ago, added: ‘The new company, funded by the trust, is a much streamlined business aimed at getting the park through to next spring when it can hopefully start to re-open fully.

‘But we need people’s help, support and understanding in order to try and make that happen.

‘The costs of the old business were crippling and could not be sustained with the huge loss of revenue already suffered this year.

‘Even if park rides opened in July, the costs of social distancing measures and the reduced capacity at which the park would have had to operate, would have meant it was unlikely to be financially viable.’

The park has struggled to make money in recent years as 400,000 out of 850,000 annual visits generate no income for the park because it is free to access.

It has been closed since lockdown and was facing a summer without visitors paying for rides and attractions, events and reduced numbers paying for parking.

The business had been left with no income for months apart from the small parking revenue which generated a loss of £820,000 in 2018/19.

He added: ‘Ultimately, Wicksteed Park is a private park which costs a great deal of money to maintain if we are to continue to open for people to use free of charge, as we have for the last 99 years.

‘The Trust receives no regular external financial support or public funding unlike other national or council owned parks, but still makes a contribution to the local economy of at least £11 million each year.’

Mr Wicksteed added that, apart from the furlough scheme, ‘there has been no meaningful government support for charities such as ours’.

He said: ‘We now need people, not least the Government, to recognise all we have done for the many millions of people who need our park and our work supporting the community.

‘If we want it to stay for many millions of people in the future to enjoy then we need to find a way to protect and preserve it.

‘The sacrifices that people are having to make during the current crisis are extraordinary and in some ways Wicksteed Park and its future are nowhere near the top of people’s priorities, as they become ill, lose loved-ones and struggle to make ends meet financially.

‘But millions of people across the country and generations of families love Wicksteed Park and have scores of happy memories made here.

‘It is a touchstone in their lives and a representation of the fun times they have had – and when the country comes out of the other side of this crisis, as it inevitably will, it will be one of the places that people will want to return to as a sign that normality has returned.’

A letter sent to staff by accountancy firm Grant Thornton LLP on Monday (19/6) was titled ‘Wicksteed Park Limited – In Administration’.   

It said: ‘As discussed on our call today, the leisure park and events business of the Company has been critically impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak and has been unable to trade over its peak summer period.

‘The financial impact of this lack of trading has led to the administration of the company.’

In a statement, Wicksteed Park said: ‘Wicksteed Park Ltd has been unable to avoid going into administration, with the loss of 48 permanent staff and 67 part-time and other jobs, due to the huge financial strain caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

‘The decision to call in administrators comes after the government announced the closure of the hospitality and leisure industry, hitting seasonal businesses particularly hard.’

Last year, the park introduced a witch’s hat – one of Britain’s best-loved piece of playground equipment – which  disappeared from playgrounds 30 years ago over concerns it was too dangerous for children. 

A modified version of the ride – which is correctly known as the ocean wave – was installed at Wicksteed Park last year.  

The conical swing is balanced on a central pole which wobbles unpredictably.

But whereas the original rides ‘had a high risk of inflicting lethal injury’ – according to a 2011 report by the Children’s Play Advisory Service – the new version has a mechanism which keeps the ride spinning but prevents crushing into the pole.

And in case a child should take a tumble, soft flooring was placed beneath the ride to cushion their fall.

In 2016, a 90-year-old book written was unearthed, which contained illustrations of all of Charles Wicksteed’s inventions including photographs of dozens of youngsters perched perilously on them.

The book, first published in 1928 and was named a ‘Plea for Children’s Recreation after School Hours and after School Age’, was discovered gathering dust in the park’s archives,