Popular UK theme park battling to survive after being 'sledgehammered' by Rachel Reeves

In 1921, pioneering engineer Charles Wicksteed opened Wicksteed Park with a simple dream; a free green space for local families and children to enjoy for generations. Fast-forward to today, Labour decisions and the crippling cost of living crisis, means this famous old attraction is having to find new ways of trying to continue that noble legacy.

Wicksteed Park in Kettering, Northamptonshire, is one of the UK's oldest theme parks. Comedian James Acaster and the Reverend Richard Coles are both fans, while Rachel Reeves once fondly recalled visiting. However, the Chancellor's warm words mean little to the park now after a bumpy year that has seen increased costs and a drop in footfall, believed to be linked to the cost of living.

The National Insurance and minimum wage hikes, announced by the Chancellor in last year's controversial Autumn Budget, took a devastating chunk of up to £30,000 out of Wicksteed's bottom line.

Ahead of the next budget in November, the Government is being warned Wicksteed - and other UK theme parks - could be under threat unless Labour listens to concerns.

Oliver Wicksteed, great grandson of the park's founder and chair of the Wicksteed Charitable Trust which owns the park, said: "Greater understanding rather than what feels like a sledgehammer would be very much appreciated and some more communication and feeling that people like us would like to have a voice.

"Because we want to be listened to and that voice doesn't feel like it's being heard at all, despite my efforts in contacting all sorts of people in various positions.

"Everybody's sympathetic, nobody's doing anything, and that doesn't help.

"We need somebody that's actually going to do something constructive to support the people of this country and the businesses in this country and the charities which are finding it really, really hard at the moment.

"Otherwise, you're going to lose organisations that you will never get back and that would be a shame."

Over the past year, theme parks have reported being on a rocky ride.

Oakwood Theme Park - Wales' largest theme park - shut down after almost 40 years in March while Flambards Theme Park in Cornwall closed its gates for the final time in November last year.

Meanwhile, Fantasy Island next to Skegness in Lincolnshire hasannounced it will open five days a week rather than seven during the off-peak season following soaring costs associated with Ms Reeves' Budget.

Wicksteed Park earlier this year warned it could cease to exist in its current form and that free entry to its grounds was at risk.

It was founded 104 years ago by Charles Wicksteed, a wealthy and trailblazing engineer, who was passionate about giving local families and their children a free and safe place to play and exercise in large green spaces away from the back streets.

At that time, public parks were typically very formal places where children were told to keep off the grass.

Free access is at the heart of what Wicksteed Park stands for but to carry on this proud tradition, it is having to find new means to raise vital funds.

The park is preparing to launch a regular giving scheme following help from the National Lottery.

Allison Waterhouse, head of fundraising, said this will see supporters able to donate money on a monthly basis.

She said: "We're reviewing what we're asking at the moment and it's really important to us to make it doable for everybody so that everybody can help and support us.

"Ideally, for us, we'd just love people to be able to donate anything they can but we will be looking at different amounts.

"But the message from us is that anything really helps."

"It would be dreadful if we suddenly said, 'right, you're all going to have to pay to get in'," said Oliver.

"It would be against what my great grandfather wanted, it's very much against what I would want to see and my colleagues on the trust board, and indeed the people of Kettering."

"Free access is precious but we've got to find a way of paying for it," he added.

Wicksteed Park is the UK's oldest mainland theme park and is also known as the birthplace of the modern-day playground, as Charles, a clergyman's son, created swings and slides as we know them today.

It is home to more than 25 rides and attractions, including a water chute which is believed to be one of the world's oldest water rides after opening in 1926, as well as stunning gardens and walking trails.

Its running costs amount to around £1.4 million per year and roughly 650,000 of the one million visits last year were free.

The National Insurance hike and minimum wage increase has been another hammerblow to Wicksteed after a tough few years which saw it access emergency funding to recoup losses sustained during the Covid pandemic.

In a bid to reduce labour costs, the park had to "rationalise" the hours of some of the approximate 150 seasonal staff employed over the summer peak, causing a knock-on effect on some attractions.

The row boats - which require two members of staff - have only been opened a handful of times this year, while a show at the onsite theatre hasn't run for the last couple of summers due to the cost being too high.

Managing director Kelly Richardson, who visited Wicksteed growing up as a child, said rises in the minimum wage over the last few years have had a "huge" impact.

She explained: "Sixteen to 17 year olds, the wage rate went up 18% in a year and in the last three years, it's over 60%.

"We cannot, as a business, charge our customers 60% more than we did a couple of years ago, and yet staff costs make up 50% of our cost base.

"Of course, we want to ensure everybody who works here has a fair wage, and that's massively important to us that our staff are supported and fairly remunerated for the work that they do, but the knock-on impact to us from a business perspective is it's an enormous cost."

Despite some good weather over the summer, the park saw lower-than-expected footfall and consumer behaviour suggests visitors are being more cautious with their money, Kelly explained.

She said there has been a "substantial increase" in single ride ticket sales, rather than wristbands that offer unlimited and free access to everything at the park.

Kelly said this suggests people are "picking their favourite things" and then enjoying the site for free.

She said it appears the public may be spending less on days out at theme parks, pointing to the closure of other venues in recent months.

"That's a worry," she added.

Wicksteed's free-to-enter grounds mean it is really woven into the fabric of Kettering.

Locals frequently visit as part of their everyday routine, from walking the dog to catching up with friends or grabbing a drink and bite to eat at lunchtime like Wayne Cunnington, 54, who has been a regular for 50 years.

He told the Express: "It's my little excuse to get a coffee, see a bit of scenery and read a book.

"It brings so many people together, so many different communities meet here, whether it's for running, walking or just talking."

Jagodo Mich, 34, who was visiting the park's soft play area with her young daughter, is also a fan.

"She can go and have a play and I can have a chat with my friend over coffee," she explained.

"If the weather is nice, you can have a pretty long walk or if you don't have time, you can spend half an hour watching the ducks there or other animals. It's important because they can get closer to nature, even though we are in town."

She added that paying to enter the park "would probably scare off some people".

In response, a Treasury spokesperson said: "We are a pro-business government that has capped Corporation Tax at 25%, the lowest rate in the G7, we're reforming business rates, have secured trade deals with the US, EU and India and have seen interest rates cut five times since the election, benefiting businesses in every part of Britain.

"The tax decisions we took at the Budget last year mean that we have been able to deliver on the priorities of the British people, from investing in the NHS to cutting waiting lists and putting more money in their pockets with a wage boost for millions."