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Fresh quest for new operator to revive fortunes of Arbroath seafront attractions

Angus Council hopes to find an operator for a five-year deal.
Angus Council hopes to find an operator for a five-year deal.

A fresh bid has been mounted to find an operator for a seaside Arbroath park at the centre of a six-figure spending row.

Angus Council hope to find someone willing to run West Links attraction for the next five years.

It comes 12 months after an invitation to tender failed to draw any expressions of interest for the long-established park.

West Links was a magnet for generations of Scots holidaymakers in its heyday.

In 2012, it enjoyed a £500,000 revamp of the seafront playpark there.

West Links draws thousands of summer visitors.

But the area lost one of its most famous attractions last year when dwindling visitor numbers forced the pull-out of Kerr’s Miniature Railway after 85 years.

Crazy golf proposal

In a turnaround mission, the council is to spend more than £200,000 on a new crazy golf attraction.

Final plans for the project are yet to be submitted, but the £212,000 project has divided opinion.

The fully-accessible course has been hailed as a valuable addition to the seafront offering for locals and visitors.

But it has been branded as belonging in the 1960s by the town’s longest-serving councillor.

A council spokesperson said: “Once appointed, the recreations operator would be responsible for facilities that include the crazy golf, mini-cars, putting, pitch and putt, a quad bike track, tennis courts and public toilets.

“The council would also welcome any serious offer to further invest in the location, whether or not it is directly related with the management of the playpark and attractions.”

Kerr’s Miniature Railway was a feature at West Links for 85 years.

The council added: “Recent reports that firm offers for the further development of attractions on the West Links have been made to Angus Council are not correct.

“While the council has held discussions with third parties in relation to potential development, no formal proposals have been received.

Alternative plan derailed

John Kerr, the third-generation owner of the miniature railway said he felt “hoodwinked” by the council after discussions aimed at extending the railway to take it closer to the main playpark and other attractions fell apart.

He was willing to put up £75,000 of his own money but said the development of the 18-hole crazy golf attraction would leave no space for the railway.

Earlier this month, Mr Kerr revealed he had bought Scarbourough’s North Bay Heritage Railway.

The North Yorkshire attraction pulls in around 120,000 passengers a year and Mr Kerr said his “significant investment” in the 90-year-old railway was “Arbroath’s loss and Scarborough’s gain.”

He said he was told by email the council was planning to press ahead with the crazy golf plan but did not intend to take the railway idea forward.

A second operator’s hopes of developing a dinosaur park and Scotland’s first artificial caving system at West Links also fell through.

Selkie Rocks previously operated at West Links but company boss Iain Lilly said council chiefs had cold-shouldered his proposals to develop the ageing attractions.

The authority said: “The council remains open and receptive to any formal approach.”