A local consortium have been left disappointed after their £250 million bid was rejected
Hope has been dashed for the revival of Wales’ largest theme park(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)
Efforts to revive what was Wales’ biggest theme park have come to a halt after its Spanish owners rejected a £250 million takeover bid from a local consortium.
Generations of visitors were left devastated when Oakwood theme park in Pembrokeshire closed in March after nearly four decades of operation. Once a beloved staple for thousands of Welsh families and schools, the 90-acre park was described as a “rite of passage”, as well as being Wales’ largest and most well-known attraction.
Its owners, Spanish leisure firm Aspro Parks, announced the closure following years of financial difficulty. Despite investing more than £25 million since acquiring the park in 2008, the owners said that the steady decline of visitor numbers made the business unsustainable.
Aspro Park’s statement at the time read: “It is with much sadness that we have to announce the immediate closure of Oakwood Theme Park and confirm the park will not open for the 2025 season.
“Following a strategic review of the business, Aspro Parks, owner and operator of Oakwood Theme Park have reached this difficult decision due to the challenges presented by the current business environment.”All possible avenues have been explored to avoid the closure, and we fully recognise the impact of the closure on the local community and the loss that will be felt as a result.”
Six months on, a consortium of local businesses, Richens Leisure Projects (RLP), put forward a £250 million proposal to reopen and revitalise the park. The organisation revealed that they had approached the Welsh Government, Visit Wales and other stakeholders earlier this year with a plan to create a national leisure destination.
The new initiative also hopes to boost employment with an estimate of more than 100 seasonal job opportunities in the Pembrokeshire area, where the park has lost some of its well-known rides.
However, Aspro have now informed RLP that it will not allow them to take over the site. RLP shared their disappointment in the outcome, saying: “We have stayed professional throughout the process of the proposal. Now we know the outcome, we have to announce this devastating outcome.”
In light of the setback, RLP went on to say that they remain focused in their vision, adding that they have developed a phased capital reinvestment strategy to “re-establish Oakwood as a national leisure destination”. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter here
They continued: “This isn’t about nostalgia – it’s about rebuilding pride. It’s about giving today’s kids the same memories we had, only with something stronger behind it: community ownership and a long-term plan.”
Although the initial optimism that Oakwood could be reinvented now seems uncertain, especially with the RL Parks website revive.wales having gone offline, the local community has made it clear that no one is giving up on the theme park just yet.
One said: “I grew up in west Wales. I remember every queue, every hill climb, every first drop.”Oakwood wasn’t just a theme park – it was a rite of passage for kids in this country. You didn’t just go there. You remembered it.”
Another added: “Very sad to see this. Took the kids there a lot when they were small. It was a ‘sort of ours’ theme park in Wales and we loved to support it on that basis.”