ATTRACTIONS


HLF offers £10m funding pool for anniversary events


Aſter announcing last October that it will be making £10m available for anniversary and commemorative projects over the next four years, the Heritage Lottery Fund is now open to applications through three funds. Sharing Heritage is for smaller projects,


with grants for £3,000-£10,000; Our Heritage is for those between £10,000 and £100,000 and Heritage Grants is for large projects between £100,000 and £2m. As well as a host of events nationwide to


mark the cetenary of the start of WW1 this year, there is likely to be events recognis- ing the centenary of Dylan Tomas’ birth this year, the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo in 2015 and 50 years since England won the football World Cup in 2016. Details: http://lei.sr?a=z7J8n


Shrek attraction coming to London


Merlin Entertainments has agreed a deal with Hollywood s tudio Dre amWo r ks Animation to open attrac- tions based on the Shrek movies, with next year’s London opening scheduled to be followed by five more locations worldwide. The attractions will take


visitors on an interactive adventure featuring charac- ters from the franchise and will see an initial roll-out of six attractions up to 2023, with the London opening expected during Q3 of 2015. The announcement marks the first time


Tere will be an initial roll-out of six Shrek attractions up to 2023 Te 2,000sq m (21,500sq ſt) attraction will


Merlin has worked with DreamWorks to create a branded entertainment attraction based on a globally recognised franchise. It also marks Dreamworks’ first foray in helping produce an attraction of this scale by licensing the use of its characters and stories. Shrek’s Far Far Away Adventure will debut


on the original film’s 15th anniversary at County Hall, close to Merlin’s other attractions in the South Bank area including the London Eye, Sea Life Aquarium and London Dungeon.


Te installation will cost an estimated £1m


Work gathering steam for new Hello Kitty secret attraction


Work on Drusillas Park’s new Hello Kitty Secret Garden attraction is gathering at pace, as the Sussex-based theme park saw the installation of the first of three children’s rides ready for the Garden’s spring opening. Once completed, the attraction will be


the first official permanent Hello Kittty attraction in Europe, with the park recently installing a Hello Kitty tea cup ride, con- structed by Zamperla in Italy. Te park will see the installation of a sky


hopper ride by Zamperla in the coming months, before the introduction of a Hello Kitty car ride which is being manufactured in Germany by Metallbau-Emmeln. Bringing the attraction to Drusillas has


been the park’s biggest investment to date and is expected to cost around £1m, with a deal being signed last year with Japanese company Sanrio, which created the Hello Kitty character and owns the licence. Drusillas is a popular family theme


park, with the UK attraction featuring a mixture of animals and rides, while receiv- ing around 350,000 visitors each year. Details: http://lei.sr?a=z7J8n


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be based around a completely new story writ- ten by the DreamWorks team and will include characters from Shrek, as well as others from Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. In addition, there will be a rotat- ing exhibition area for various DreamWorks releases and a branded retail outlet. Nick Varney, chief executive of Merlin


Entertainments, said: “Developing an attrac- tion based on Shrek is the start of what we hope will be a wider collaboration with DreamWorks Animation.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=M8w7A


MK Bowl proposed for major indoor waterpark


Milton Keynes National Bowl could become home to the UK’s largest indoor waterpark, with the leisure development also potentially featuring a new sports village and a venue for events. Te plans are proposed by


Moirai Capital Investments, which has been granted pre- ferred bidder status by the Milton Keynes Development Partnership (MKDP). Te developer believes the


attraction would create around 650 full and part-time jobs, with the project costing in the region of £26m. Te sports village is to include a range of


Developer Moirai Capital Investments is behind the £26m proposal If a commitment contract is signed and plans


sports facilities, which can be used by visitors and locals alike, with the centre also accom- modating MK Cycling and providing an option for an international team training camp for the Rugby World Cup next year. It is also thought that a new headquarters for


Badminton England, which has already been granted planning permission, will be con- structed as part of the development.


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


go ahead, the Bowl Arena will also see a num- ber of enhancements through investment, in a bid to ensure the Bowl improves its position as an important event venue in Britain. “Moirai’s proposals offer an exciting opportu-


nity to enhance MK’s leisure offer and provide a major tourist attraction that will boost Milton Keynes’ profile as a vibrant place to live and visit,” said independent chair of the MKDP John Duggan. Details: http://lei.sr?a=W5R5C


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2014


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