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Lightwater Valley

Genuinely wonder if this is mismanagement or a dying sector. My perception of piers is something that people in the 1930s did, and they are something of a relic.

The management of LWV has been horrendous, but it very much looks like so much of it has been because of cost cutting.

The ultimate was probably never going to run again regardless of who owned it, and the stresses and strains on the ride were probably eventually going to show either by killing someone or spectacularly breaking. So let's remember it for its glory days.

The rest of the park though? So much potential, so many corners cut, it's a wonder it has stayed open as long as it has. I always will have a soft spot for the place but a lack of any kind of investment since 2010 or possibly longer has meant I have had no interest in going back for at least the last decade.

I just hope upon hope whoever buys it sees the potential that's there and exploits it. It's beautiful (or the land is anyway), easy to get to, and has no real nearby competitors to its target market (the north east, not North Yorkshire, unlike flamingo land), and it is such a shame it has been so badly neglected for so long.

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shawnoc said:
Investment on the pier has been non existent. They got rid of Booster on whim without a replacement in mind. Hence the rush job to rent a small rocking boat ride as a replacement.
Maintenance on the pier had only been essential bit for h&s and it shows, the place is a mess. My customer the pier said to me a few weeks back that the pier may be up for sale along with Lightwater Valley.
Not sure who would buy the pier but I would hope it’s someone with deep pockets and sort out the last 5-10 years of under investment.
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Someone who can tear down Turbo 😂
 
I would say that the recent management at LV has been solid.
Moved away from the thrill market, and focused on young families.
Satisfaction has increased, attendance has turned the corner, the place is now run better than it has been in years.
But no stuff for thoosies.

And Blackpools Central and South piers are still very busy through the season, only the North one is dead.
 
rob666 said:
I would say that the recent management at LV has been solid.
Moved away from the thrill market, and focused on young families.
Satisfaction has increased, attendance has turned the corner, the place is now run better than it has been in years.
But no stuff for thoosies.

And Blackpools Central and South piers are still very busy through the season, only the North one is dead.
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The visitor numbers don't support this argument, they have been pretty stagnant. The whole period of thier ownership has been nothing more than an asset stripping excersise. Day to day operations may be good but if you have so few rides it's not much of an achievement
 
Quantum said:
The visitor numbers don't support this argument, they have been pretty stagnant. The whole period of thier ownership has been nothing more than an asset stripping excersise. Day to day operations may be good but if you have so few rides it's not much of an achievement
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So is that down to local park management or again the investors behind them. You could argue the same for Alton in some sense.

Local management seem to be doing a great job but have their hands tied - I suspect the same happened here
 
Quantum said:
The visitor numbers don't support this argument...
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Any actual figures out there?
I can't find any at all.

The park operations have shrunk, no monster coaster to manage, other large rides gone, together with the mechanics and ops staff gone.

Attendance remains static...therefore fewer costs, with the same income, and more satisfied customers in their new market...tweenies.
Makes good sense to me.
 
rob666 said:
I would say that the recent management at LV has been solid.
Moved away from the thrill market, and focused on young families.
Satisfaction has increased, attendance has turned the corner, the place is now run better than it has been in years.
But no stuff for thoosies.

And Blackpools Central and South piers are still very busy through the season, only the North one is dead.
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The decision to move away from the thrill market was by previous owners (who are responsible for the death of Flambards too)

I would say that with the thrill rides, Brighton Pier have tried to bring them back i.e. Rocket, although that wasn't successful (likely due to the issues with the coaster itself).
 
I did say recent, not current.
The reviews generally have been more positive in recent years.
Constant income, reduced ride costs after removal.

They have not gone back towards the thrill market in any way, it is for kiddie families in the north of Yorkshire now, and has established itself as such.

What it really needs now is a couple of dozen lodges being built for next season.
 
Some figures from another article of how bad things are for Brighton Pier Group:


The famous Brighton Pier has been put up for sale as its operator, Brighton Pier Group (BPG), struggles with falling visitor numbers and soaring costs.

The company, which also owns Lightwater Valley theme park and several mini-golf sites, said it is exploring the sale of “some or all” of its remaining assets after reporting a pre-tax loss of £7.8 million — up from £2.8 million the previous year. Revenue also dipped to £25.8 million.

BPG blamed higher wages, increased National Insurance, and cuts to business rate relief for squeezing profits. Visitor numbers have dropped, prompting the company to double the pier’s entry fee from £1 to £2 in March.

The group has already sold several bars and says the timeline for selling the pier is uncertain. No sale price has been disclosed.

The move follows a tough period for Brighton’s tourism industry, with attractions like the i360 also facing financial struggles.

Sussex News
 
Apologies for the double post, I've just read through the financials posted on companies house. Some notes are that the sale of Lightwater Valley was agreed by directors in April 2025.

Footfall was up by 8% at LWV with a turnover of 4.9M. From that profits were 0.7M and there was 0.2M of investment in the form of WI-FI and an indoor soft play area.

Stronger performance was accounted for by successful dynamic ticket pricing campaigns, strong advertising campaigns, concessions to food offerings (who would have thought reduced food pricing would lead to more food profits…) and more streamlined staff rotas.

Asides from LWV the rest of their accounts are less impressive.
 
Hid said:
Wouldn't be a bad operator as Mellors are pretty good at keeping ride lineups fresh. Fantasy Island has done better under them when they did go into Administration before.
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I'd never visited Fantasy island before last year, and was genuinely surprised at the place. It's eclectic and downright bizarre, but it does seem reasonably well looked after, and if it is them and that's all they do to LWV, frankly that will be more than it gets now.

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I have to say, I owe LWV’s owner an apology.

When it was announced in 2021 that they were closing all the thrill rides and becoming a young families only park, I though uh-oh we’ve got another American Adventure on our hands.

Turns out that they’ve a really done a pretty good job of running and marketing it as a family park. If, as many are suggesting, their attendance is the same as it was pre-Covid, then that’s a huge achievement considering they no longer have the draw of the larger rides.

As Rob pointed out, they’ll have saved loads on staffing and maintenance costs by not having those rides there, and can now have a very clear identity and focus of who they are.

The only thing that’s a real shame is that, like American Adventure, they have a huge amount of land which never had its full potential realised, and it now feels like even more wasted space, for a park that could be squeezed in to a small plot of land.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
I have to say, I owe LWV’s owner an apology.

When it was announced in 2021 that they were closing all the thrill rides and becoming a young families only park, I though uh-oh we’ve got another American Adventure on our hands.

Turns out that they’ve a really done a pretty good job of running and marketing it as a family park. If, as many are suggesting, their attendance is the same as it was pre-Covid, then that’s a huge achievement considering they no longer have the draw of the larger rides.

As Rob pointed out, they’ll have saved loads on staffing and maintenance costs by not having those rides there, and can now have a very clear identity and focus of who they are.

The only thing that’s a real shame is that, like American Adventure, they have a huge amount of land which never had its full potential realised, and it now feels like even more wasted space, for a park that could be squeezed in to a small plot of land.
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The owners who made the decision to go family is the one's who killed Flambards.

Brighton Pier Group bought out Lightwater Valley in the July of the same year and I'd say would be the one's who could be given the credit of maintaining the park up until this point.
 
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