by Joe Samworth
Landscape design, architecture, town planning and government policy all contribute to the creation of different sorts of parks and these, in turn, are influenced by the basic factors of weather and economics — and even strong individual personalities. In Britain the varied climatic conditions produced a wide range of recreational facilities, and now, with both population and prosperity increasing, the needs are further changing, probably more so than in any other country.
In the 1700s the ruling families had grown phenomenally rich, so that they could afford to take many acres of land out of cultivation to form extensive parks. At Versailles the palace was created for the garden, rather than the other way round, to provide a stupendous theatre for fetes. This, then, was the first garden open to the public and the beginning of the “park” idea.
Although “open to the public”, Versailles was not in fact designed for public use, and it was not until the 19th century that we find the public park as we know it — an area of land laid out for public use in urban surroundings. In Victorian times, parks were beginning to be laid out on the edge of the byelaw streets.
The principle of the parkway system was the basis of the earlier new town designs in the form of thoroughfares for major roads separating the zones of differing uses: green arteries link foot-paths and cycleways with playgrounds and parks of all kinds.
Beyond the towns, national parks have become established and since 1968 country parks have been provided so that the natural beauty of the countryside can be enjoyed.
The post-war era saw a sharp increase in disposable income, disposable time, mobility and the development of the mass media, all major factors in the leisure boom. By the 1960s the interest of the British public in leisure pursuits increased dramatically and the leisure industry came into being.
The UK market in 1970 still lacked the capital-intensive leisure parks of the kind found in parts of North America, such as Disney, Six Flags and Marriott Parks, and in West Germany with Phantasialand and Europa Park — all of which had involved huge investments. But towards the end of the 1970s John Broome, the present chairman of Alton Towers, carried out a two-year feasibility study to determine the direction that Alton Towers would take. His basic premise was that the park had all the necessary qualities to take it into the Disney league.
Disneyland
The “theme park” was born in America, and the Walt Disney Productions theme park at Los Angeles, opened in 1955, still attracts over 10m visitors a year. Similar facilities were opened in Florida in 1971, Tokyo in 1983, and Paris is planned for 1990.
The LA site was an orange grove before its transformation and had little in the way of facilities, but now the whole area is built up with hotels and other services to cater for the influx of visitors.
The amusement part of the site occupies 77 acres and there is an additional 100 acres of parking: practically all visits are made by car. Half the visitors to Disneyland come from within a 100-mile radius and the remainder are mainly holiday-makers who are also enjoying the good beaches nearby. The facility is open a full 365 days a year and the weather and the state of the US economy have clearly had a great influence on the continuing success of the venture.
On some 80 days each year the park closes at 6 pm, when it is available for private parties and company visits, a feature which represents about 30% of the total income. The initial investment was $17m, but now stands at over $300m.
The tremendous popularity of the park is due mainly to the uniqueness of its attractions: new elements can take years to design and many months to construct, but if they prove not to be a good crowd-puller they are altered or dismantled after only two or three years.
During the winter there is a full-time staff of 5,000 which in the summer rises to 8,000 with seasonal workers. The general shops sell a wide range of goods, while items associated with a particular theme are sold only in the appropriate area, eg cowboy hats in “Frontier Land”. The gardens and grounds are maintained by a staff of 50 and a budget of $400,000 is allocated for new plant material each year.
The high quality of the attractions makes them costly, but obviously it is financially successful, as the concept has been repeated in Disney World and the Epcot Centre in Florida on a site that extends to 28,000 acres, although the theme park itself is only 250 acres. Some 7,500 acres is an “untramelled wilderness” where deer, ibis and other wildlife wander freely. What was initially an amusement park is now an empire with visitors from all over the world spending a minimum of three days seeing the rides and attractions — one money-making idea after another.
Alton Towers
Situated in the beautiful North Staffordshire countryside, Alton Towers is rated as one of the top five leisure parks in the world: it was established by John Broome in 1973 without any public-sector grant or subsidy.
The 800-acre estate — now open from March to November with over 2m visitors a year — has long been renowned for its majestic buildings and fine gardens. The house was one of the largest private homes in Europe, but became sadly dilapidated: the success of the leisure park means that it is now possible to fund the astronomical cost of restoring The Towers, which provides a superb backcloth to the whole park. The wonderful gardens were created in the early 19th century, giving a maturity to the setting which even the American leisure parks do not have.
Some 300 acres of Alton Towers are devoted to the entertainment complex with five main theme areas including 100 attractions (costing £70m) discreetly sited on the periphery so that they do not impose on the attractive setting of the park. Merchandising and catering are non-franchised as a matter of company policy and contribute considerable revenue. There is a street of shops — selling designer-label merchandise, pottery, leisure wear, toys, furniture and souvenirs — through which visitors are channelled from the main entrance. Architecturally, to be frank, the street is without any real character, being neither well-designed nor dressed up in Disneyland fantasy style. The landscaping between the shops, equally, does not match the quality set by the Victorians who created the original gardens.
Alton Towers is between the M1 and M6, but it is somewhat “out in the sticks” and approached via attractive but rather tortuous routes, though there are plans to make direct connections with the A50, a dual-carriageway road. The disadvantages of traffic through local villages is offset by the business generated by passing traffic and the employment opportunities — 300 people are in permanent jobs and supported by an additional 1,000 seasonal staff. Many of the locals also provide bed and breakfast facilities, and planning permission has been granted for a 56-bed hotel in the park. Alton Towers is unique in that it combines the traditions of the past with the most exciting technology of the present to lead Britain’s leisure industry into the future.
Thorpe Park
This development of a series of disused gravel pits into a theme park, just 20 miles from the centre of London, has attracted over 1m visitors during each of the last four years. It is owned and managed by Leisure Sport, a member of the Ready Mixed Concrete Group, and opens from March until September.
Once the company had decided to move into leisure a study was made of the more promising sites owned by the group and Thorpe Park was chosen because of its outstanding location: it adjoins the M3 and M25, and local roads are good. By 1985 the total investment, excluding land values, was some £15m in a site covering nearly 500 acres, of which half consists of a series of interconnected lakes. The main car park takes 5,000 cars and 250 coaches.
Although the initial planning permission took over two years to negotiate, the real problems arose at the detailed application stage. A further four years elapsed before the company had permission to proceed with a viable proposition. The need for constant change and updating of facilities is difficult to convey to planners, and the company has been accused of changing the original concept.
Water is a great attraction and provides the perfect setting for any leisure development, but if anything Thorpe Park is blessed with too much, leaving insufficient land available for the siting of the facilities essential to attract large numbers of family groups regularly.
No concessions are granted, so the company can maintain management control. The permanent staff is about 55 with seasonal staff (mainly students) totalling some 400.
Part of the £3.5m invested in 1987 went into a shopping complex which houses Bavarian, French and Italian restaurants, and Dutch and Spanish shops. Apart from the usual souvenirs, there are also numerous other retail outlets, including a teddy bear shop and a shell shop. Another £2.5m is to be spent on major attractions in 1988.
An advantage resulting from this development, with its theme of “the British as a maritime nation”, is that the amount of under-cover, all-weather attractions will come close to the equivalent of five hours of “fun” a day — one hour more than in 1987 — and therefore closer to the 6 hours 20 minutes of the average visit.
During the season Thorpe Park offers hospitality facilities for companies and other organisations, while in the winter, private dinner dances are held and product launches, conferences, exhibitions and other events are organised.
The American Adventure
The American Adventure is located on the A6007 in Derbyshire, between Ilkeston and Heanor near the M1. It opened in 1987 and is on a 344-acre site which adjoins the Shipley Country Park. Both sites are owned by Derbyshire County Council and the theme park is on a long lease to Park Hall Leisure, a subsidiary of the Granada Group. The county council funded the infrastructure, car parks, toilet and services, and Park Hall Leisure have invested over £12m in the venture so far. This is a case where the local authority has encouraged the development because there are shared benefits with the country park: it is seen as a way of creating an awareness of the countryside as well as providing employment. County residents have a 50% reduction on entrance fees for part of the year and council events, especially for schools, are held.
Park Hall’s decision to develop the site was particularly courageous given the failure of an earlier initiative on the same site — the ill-fated Britannia Park. The company’s confidence has clearly paid off, with the American Adventure enjoying a very successful first season.
Everything at the park is based on a single theme — the development of the Americas and the Wild West — to provide what the Americans call “an entertainment experience”, offering some of the most sophisticated rides and attractions in the country. But the key is live entertainment — shoot-outs in an authentic cowboy town; trick-riding and wagon racing; singing and dancing in Lazy Lils Saloon. All the staff are in full costume, from Mohican Indian litter-pickers to Mississippi steamboat captains, and are given training in guest relations, a feature all too often neglected by British leisure operators.
There is a trading post and an Indian village, animated displays, cinematic presentations and an interesting blend of shops. New developments planned for 1988 include a spectacular £2.5m rapids ride, extensive landscaping of the whole site, and substantial upgrading of catering outlets and shops and the provision of additional parking space. This year the strategy will be reflecting the change from a regional to a national tourist attraction. Park Hall Leisure’s plans for the site are ambitious and designed to take the park into the 1990s as one of Britain’s leading theme park and all-round leisure centres, probably the first to open all the year. Planning permission for a themed hotel has been granted and further attractions including a dry ski slope and a golf course are under consideration.
Ingredients of a successful leisure park
Location is paramount. The site must be near centres of population and close to the motorway network; local roads must be capable of handling high volumes of additional traffic and provide satisfactory access to the site. The park surroundings and approaches should enhance the development and, if possible, the site should be within an established tourist area where the local authority is more likely to understand what is proposed and actively encourage the development. Public transport to the site is a bonus, although this is not essential as practically all visitors arrive by car or private coach. But leisure developments have the advantages that peak attendances are at weekends and on public holidays, when there is no commuter and commercial traffic.
A suitable leisure site must also fulfil several essential requirements: size is the critical factor which determines what can be achieved on a site. Car-parking alone puts heavy demands on space and is critical in determining attendances. The parking area must be of sufficient size to accommodate the attendance on a peak holiday period. Size also permits flexibility in the layout of the park, so that high-intensity areas can be separated from more passive uses, theme areas created and buildings sited away from adjoining properties. Major leisure parks require a minimum attraction area of some 50 acres, but need considerably more land to cater for the additional facilities and infrastructure. Landscape quality is a prime consideration for if the environment is poor the park is doomed: there will be few return visits. Sites should be selected on the scenic merits rather than resorting to leisure as the answer to a problem area for which no other solution can be found. At an early stage the availability of services must be investigated, together with their ability to accept the sudden surges brought about by influxes of large numbers of people.
A leisure park is a product which evokes a range of emotions. The end-result is therefore essentially a “total experience”, the determinants of which include the mix and calibre of attractions; the range of services; and the attitude of park personnel. When it comes to factors producing a high degree of total product satisfaction, cleanliness and friendliness are very high on the list.
Theme parks are becoming very much like towns or villages, forever changing and growing. They also involve a typical cross-section of the community — bankers, entrepreneurs, designers, manufacturers, retailers, medical staff, cleaners, electricians, accountants, marketing experts, caterers and construction teams.
They have an influence on the adjoining area — for better or for worse. Most problems are related to traffic, but a major advantage is that they create work and bring business to the locality.
A recent trend is the introduction of retailing to the “captive audience”, shopping which is not in character with the theme of the park — clothes, pottery, toys, boutiques and toiletries.
One interesting aspect of British theme parks is that they were all started for different reasons and are consequently all different in character. The climate has a big influence: with a great variety of plants there is the opportunity to create the best landscaped settings, but there is also an obvious need to provide a considerable amount of shelter at regular intervals throughout the park: the future of the British theme park industry lies in providing an all-year-round operation.
Although totally different in character, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and the recently-opened Pleasurewood Hills, near Great Yarmouth, represent the nearest equivalent in Britain to the North American or West German theme parks.
Return visits are essential to any successful leisure development. Disney estimate that of the 25m visitors to Disneyland in California over the past 25 years, 90% have been on more than one occasion. It follows that new attractions must be added and existing facilities updated at frequent intervals to stimulate repeat visits.
The future of the leisure industry in the UK is extremely healthy, though a cautionary note must be added. While leisure time may increase, the amount of money available per family to spend on leisure will not increase pro-rata. The public are increasingly wary of being cheated, and tired of being presented with low standards and poor value for money. The leisure industry involves catering for an increasingly sophisticated and fickle consumer market and a leisure park is a consumer-led product. Marketing therefore plays a leading role in effectively communicating the product to the customer. Marketing research is vital in ensuring that the product meets the demands of the consumer, and constant monitoring of all aspects — strengths, weaknesses, competition and trends — is vital.