{"id":204567,"date":"2025-06-22T07:28:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T07:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/204567\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T07:28:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T07:28:26","slug":"seaside-towns-struggling-theme-park-forced-to-close-2-days-a-week-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/204567\/","title":{"rendered":"Seaside town\u2019s struggling theme park forced to close 2 days a week | UK | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"James<\/p>\n

James Mellors said Fantasy Island is ‘absolutely getting punched’ by rising costs (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

One of Britain<\/a>\u2019s most famous seaside theme parks has had to cut down its operating hours after Rachel Reeves<\/a>\u2019 so-called jobs tax put its wage bill \u201cthrough the roof\u201d. Fantasy Island is one of a number of businesses in and around Skegness<\/a>, in Lincolnshire, to share how this year has been one of the hardest in recent memory, with the blame being laid firmly at the doors of Numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street.<\/p>\n

The Daily Express was exclusively invited to a meeting between Fantasy Island and Richard Tice<\/a>, deputy leader of Reform UK.<\/a> Mr Tice, the MP for the area, warned the Chancellor\u2019s policies could lead to a \u201cterrifying double whammy to the national accounts\u201d. James Mellors, director of the Mellors Group which owns Fantasy Island, said the much-loved attraction is \u201cabsolutely getting punched\u201d by soaring labour costs and energy bills.<\/p>\n

READ MORE <\/strong> Heartbreaking message in a bottle washes up on UK beach with tourists in tears <\/a> [SKEGNESS] <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Fantasy<\/p>\n

Fantasy Island has more than 300 employees (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

Difficult decisions have been made to help bring down overheads.<\/p>\n

The theme park is now opening five days a week rather than seven during the off-peak season and shutting earlier in a bid to save money.<\/p>\n

Fantasy Island is one of the biggest employers in the area but has also had to reduce its number of seasonal workers by about 50 (15%) as part of the cost-cutting measures, with the business facing up to a \u00a3400,000 hit in National Insurance contributions alone.<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

Fantasy Island’s James Mellors speaks to Reform UK MP Richard Tice (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

\"Richard<\/p>\n

Richard Tice warned the Chancellor’s policies could lead to a ‘massive shock’ nationally (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019re getting hit in more ways than one,\u201d Mr Mellors said. \u201cWe\u2019re absolutely getting punched.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur electricity has gone up \u2014 it was \u00a3600,000 in 2022, we\u2019re now over \u00a31 million\u2026 so we\u2019re closing two days, we\u2019ve got to reduce power.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t run a theme park without power. It\u2019s alright saying \u2018go sustainable\u2019, we could put as many wind turbines in as we want and it\u2019s not going to give us the power we need each day.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuel is obviously through the roof as well, so a lot of our customers are finding it more expensive to get out here to the coast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just feel like we\u2019re getting hit in every direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fantasy<\/p>\n

Fantasy Island, near Skegness, has been hit hard by surging labour costs and energy prices (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

Mr Mellors described Fantasy Island as a \u201cmagnet\u201d for the area and warned its reduced opening hours will have a knock-on effect for other local businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can only see it getting worse,\u201d he said, adding that the Government has got it \u201ccompletely wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Tice warned that the Chancellor\u2019s national insurance hike to increase the public purse is proving counter-productive.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe potential impact on the Government revenues could be dramatically lower than they were all forecasting at the Treasury and the OBR which will mean at the national level, a massive shock is coming down the pipe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Richard<\/p>\n

Richard Tice says Skegness needs ‘saving’ (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

Mr Tice, who has enjoyed a successful business career, raised concerns of growing unemployment and more benefits bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a terrifying double whammy to the national accounts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve [Government] just got this catastrophically wrong at every level and they\u2019ve got to reverse course on a bunch of this stuff. They\u2019ve got to start saving some proper serious money.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest official figures show the UK\u2019s unemployment rate (4.6%) is at its highest for almost four years<\/a>, with Mr Tice saying the Chancellor is to blame \u201cfull stop\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Mellors said he has had to increase prices \u201cslightly\u201d but is reluctant to push them higher, explaining the park traditionally has been popular with former mining communities.<\/p>\n

\"Will<\/p>\n

Fantasy Island visitor Will Taylor, from Hull, spoke about the rise in the cost of living (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

He said while people are still visiting the free-to-enter park, they are spending less than before, claiming many are \u201cfearful\u201d of a potential tax rise in October.<\/p>\n

Mortgage<\/a> consultant Will Taylor, 29, visits Fantasy Island every year from Yorkshire and told the Express he was being more frugal with his spending.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the cost of living<\/a>, everything\u2019s going up,\u201d he said as he visited the park for his daughter\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s just getting more expensive, [especially] food, [we are] spending a lot more on food nowadays.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ann-Marie<\/p>\n

Ann-Marie Dixon, 44, said people are ‘feeling the pinch’ this year (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

Ann-Marie Dixon, a charity worker from Derby, has visited Skegness for the last four years with friends and says they are being more careful with their money this time around, including buying less drinks when out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think everybody\u2019s feeling the pinch,\u201d the 44-year-old said. \u201cMy husband, he\u2019s got a good job and mine\u2019s not too bad, but I think even people who are high earners still have to watch what they do with [their] money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fantasy Island has dozens of rides, including rollercoasters and drop towers which can be seen for miles along the coast.<\/p>\n

It is also home to hundreds of static caravans but several pitches now lie empty.<\/p>\n

The homes can be bought or letted out as a holiday home but sales have fallen which Mr Mellors is attributing, at least in part, to Ms Reeves\u2019 winter fuel payment<\/a> cuts which she has since U-turned on following a campaign by the Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Caravan<\/p>\n

Caravan pitches empty at Fantasy Island (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

\"Empty<\/p>\n

Fantasy Island has hundreds of static caravans but this side of the business has also been hit (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

\"Fantasy<\/p>\n

Visitors to Fantasy Island are spending less than before, James Mellors says (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you walk around now, there\u2019s less and less pensioners because they can\u2019t afford two homes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In Skegness town centre, retired teacher Jean Booth, 69, explains she was one of the millions of pensioners to lose her winter fuel allowance.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s from Yorkshire and spends plenty of her time at her caravan in the seaside resort. She too is spending less than usual.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t go out, occasionally we might, just for pleasure, walking around,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s cheaper to run the caravan than the flat we have because it\u2019s economy seven heating which costs triple what we pay at the caravan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jean<\/p>\n

Skegness regular Jean Booth, 69, spoke of the impact winter fuel payment cuts have had on her (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

\"Busy<\/p>\n

Skegness was busy when the Express visited on a hot Saturday, but businesses say spending is down (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

Local businesses in the heart of Skegness have also noticed a drop in spending, despite the recent hot weather drawing big crowds.<\/p>\n

On the busy esplanade, Seaside Treats owner Sharon Simpson said it has been a \u201cquiet\u201d year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people here haven\u2019t been spending, even though the weather\u2019s been lovely which is hard for us because normally Easter time is when we start taking the bulk of our money, and it\u2019s not been that busy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s starting to pick up now but only because we\u2019re coming towards the six weeks [of school holidays] \u2026 but it\u2019s not been a great year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t think people have got the money.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThe older generation, with obviously [the Government] taking away winter fuel has made a big difference, because a lot of my customers this time of year are older generation and they all say they\u2019re having to be careful with money.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it has definitely made an impact because we\u2019re just not seeing the sales this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sharon<\/p>\n

Sharon Simpson, who sells sweet treats on Skegness’ Tower Esplanade, said business has been ‘quiet’ (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

Back at Fantasy Island, Mr Mellors said he believes Ms Reeves has \u201ccompletely ignored\u201d the unique position of seasonal businesses and seaside towns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not think Rachel Reeves<\/a> has considered any consequences on the decisions and the hospitality sector, they\u2019re killing it and it needs help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt needs either a VAT reduction, it needs something to do with the power, especially for ourselves because we are seasonal, it is even harder for us to be able to make money back throughout the other times of the year. We need help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSOS, Save Our Skegness\u2026 Save Our Seasides,\u201d added Mr Tice.<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

The Express was exclusively invited to a meeting between James Mellors and Richard Tice (Image: Paul Marriott)<\/p>\n

In response, a Government spokesperson said: \u201cWe are a pro-business government. Economic activity is at a record high with 500,000 more people in employment since we entered office.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are protecting the smallest businesses from the employer National Insurance rise, shielding 250,000 retail, hospitality and leisure business properties from paying full business rates and have capped corporation tax at 25% – the lowest rate in the G7.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe delivered a once-in-a-Parliament budget last year that took necessary decisions on tax to stabilise the public finances and fund public services, including the NHS. We are now focused on creating opportunities for businesses to compete and access the finance they need to scale, export and break into new markets.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"James Mellors said Fantasy Island is ‘absolutely getting punched’ by rising costs (Image: Paul Marriott) One of Britain\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[51,43149,2915,82445,528,27120,82446,12,619,386,8721,35982,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-204567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-city-business-section","10":"tag-exclusive","11":"tag-fantasy-island","12":"tag-labour-party","13":"tag-lincolnshire","14":"tag-mellors-group","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-rachel-reeves","17":"tag-reform-uk","18":"tag-richard-tice","19":"tag-skegness","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114725841837399968","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}