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MORE WELSH WONDERS (PAGE 6 OF 6)
by Phil Gould
 Article: Added July 2006

So here ends my wander down my personal memory lane.
 
It seems sad that in a couple of years time Coney Beach could be nothing more than a housing estate and who knows what will happen to Rhyl's Ocean Beach?
 
Barry Island Pleasure Park seems to be a pale shadow of itself.
 
It's a real shame that we are waving goodbye to these traditional parks with alarming regularity.
 
At this rate all we will have left on this island are corporate theme parks where the main attraction seems to be paying twenty odd quid to enjoy all the fun of standing in one queue after another for your day out.
 
I know which sort of amusement park I would rather be visiting.

Phil Gould, 2006

BBC NEWS OCTOBER 12th 2006
 
 
Plans to redevelop Rhyl - and demolish the town's funfair - are due to be submitted to Denbighshire council.
 
Proposals for a new £85m scheme called Ocean Plaza include apartments, offices and a hotel, but not the historic tourist attraction.
 
Developers Modus Properties are due to submit the plans this week.
 
Funfair owner Harold Robinson said: "This has been a very difficult decision to make, but I am afraid this is the way the business has gone".
 
He added: "Over the last few years, foreign holidays, weekend sport and 101 other things have led to this.
 
"I think the West End of Rhyl and the town in general will benefit enormously from this. We just can't carry on as we are - the whole town needs this."
 
A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said no plans had yet been submitted.


Many thanks to Phil Gould for sharing his memories and photos here on themagiceye. Thanks too, to Dawn for sharing her images of a bygone time.


Phil Gould
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More on Welsh Amusement Parks
Welsh Wonders
Ocean Beach Memoirs
Demolition of the Ocean Beach Water Chute
Plans for rebuild of Ocean Beach Water Chute at Dreamland
DVD: Building up a Rotor at Llandudno in 2007
About Phil Gould

Phil was born in Stoke-on-Trent in the early 60s. After gaining a degree in communications at Sheffield University, his first foray into the heady world of journalism occurred when he landed a job as a cub reporter at the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph.

Today Phil lives in London and is an editor on a national celebrity magazine where he gets to regularly rub shoulders with the famous "and not so famous."

In this article - written especially for themagiceye - Phil revisits the Welsh Parks of his youth from the '80s. Phil kindly shares his memories and photographs of a bygone time.

All words and pictures courtesy of Phil Gould unless otherwise stated.

Thanks also to Dawn (a reader of themagiceye) for kindly supplying additional images.

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