ONE of the biggest theme parks in the UK has made the shock decision to close its gates permanently after nearly 40 years.

Wales‘ beloved Oakwood Theme Park has announced its sudden closure with the blame being placed on “unrelenting economic challenges”.

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The Pembrokeshire-based park made a statement today saying: “It is with much sadness that we have to announce the immediate closure of Oakwood Theme Park and confirm the park will not open for the 2025 season.

“Following a strategic review of the business, Aspro Parks, owner and operator of Oakwood Theme Park have reached this difficult decision due to the challenges presented by the current business environment.

“All possible avenues have been explored to avoid the closure, and we fully recognise the impact of the closure on the local community and the loss that will be felt as a result.”

The statement continued to say how the number of visitors have been noticeably declining.

The firm had previously put more than £25 million into renovating the park since it was saved from closure back in 2008.

It has now become “unsustainable” to invest any more money into the park and expect it to return enough success.

Increases in the cost of ride parts, electricity and even food and drink have all impacted the park’s decision to finally close for good.

Its owner and operators, Aspro Parks, made their own statement on the closure.

They said: “In the entire history of Aspro we have never closed any park or attraction.

“We, and our dedicated team of staff has strived to overcome numerous challenges to continue to bring joy to families and visitors across the region and country.

“Unfortunately, we could no longer see a sustainable way forward and will seek to improve our other parks using the assets and where possible team elsewhere”.

The huge park said one of the hardest parts of announcing its final year was what it will mean to the locals in the area.

They said they feel as if they are taking away a “rite of passage” for youngsters in the area who flock down to the park in the warmer months.

Their statement ended: “Thank you for making Oakwood Theme Park a special place.”

Oakwood opened in 1987 and quickly became a hit with locals and tourists.

The park has since been crowned as the biggest theme park in Wales and is home to more than 35 different rides and attractions.

It became famous for its traditional wooden rollercoaster Megafobia with fans from all over the world turning up to ride it.

In 1997, it opened up another ride for thrill seekers called Vertigo.

Drenched was then launched in 2002 before Speed in 2006.

The theme park made headlines in April 2004 when 16-year-old Hayley Williams was killed after falling around 100ft from the top of its Hydro ride.

A 10-year-old boy was also injured in the tragedy.

In 2008, Oakwood Leisure was fined £250,000 and ordered to pay £80,000 costs because of the incident after it revealed basic safety procedures were widely ignored by staff overseeing the ride.

It comes as a giant 42-acre UK seaside theme park with roller coasters and a 200ft ride is set to open up for the first time in months.

Holidaymakers are set to walk back into the fantastic park at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and enjoy the world renowned rides.

The first Universal Studios theme park in the UK is reportedly also set to receive the final green light from the government soon.

The project, which will be 45 miles from London, will plough £14 billion into Treasury coffers in tax revenue in the coming years.

Universal bought a 450-acre site in Kempston Hardwick, just outside of Bedford, in December 2023 for the park.

The site will hold a 500-room hotel, entertainment zone, train station, and plenty of attractions to look forward to.

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