Throughout Fright Nights this year people spotted some posters talking about ‘the last beach party at Amity Beach’ and some ground work tests were spotted happening on Amity Beach which closed for the season late summer.
It looks like Thorpe Park have now confirmed that changes are coming to Amity Beach and a planning document was registered yesterday (6th November 2024) with Runnymede Council. You can view the full planning application here but in this blog I’ll go into all the details. Thorpe Park have named this project, throughout the planning documentation as ‘Project Pivot’.
Amity Beach is a family beach area situated as you first come into the park through the Dome and has been a staple of Thorpe Park since 1991 and opened alongside Depth Charge.
Throughout the years Amity Beach has had slides added and removed and, as Thorpe Park has become aimed at bigger thrill seekers, has felt more and more like a wasted space in the park.
According to the submitted planning documents by Thorpe Park the plan is to turn the right-hand side (if you’re facing with the Dome to the back of you) into an entertainment area consisting of a stage, green rooms, 2 tech rooms and 2 kiosks.
The map submitted by the park also shows terraced seating and sculptures in what looks to be a nicely landscaped, permanent entertainment area for the park.
These plans would leave Depth Charge unchanged but would remove a couple of small existing sheds and the existing ice cream stall at the edge of Neptunes beach.
The proposed height of the stage from ground level will sit at 9.9m which means it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the skyline of Thorpe Park as you walk in, especially with the exit from the Dome already being significantly elevated.
The image on the right was submitted by Thorpe Park within their planning application and shows a covered, dome-shaped stage with lighting and speakers plus a large screen.
With seating around the outside and open spaces I would expect the park to use this for their events instead of the temporary stage which currently gets erected near Ghost Train.
For events like Oktoberfest and Fright Nights this would stop the area near Ghost Train being as crowded and would also provide a permanent venue for Thorpe Park to provide entertainment throughout the season.
With comments being due within 21 days of a planning application being submitted it’s likely that Runnymede Council will be discussing and voting on this in their meeting on the 27th November.
Assuming planning permission is granted (which I think will be likely given this is a relatively small project) then I think we could expect to see work start immediately and this be ready for the summer of the 2025 season.
Thorpe Park’s ‘Last Beach Party’ posters also hint that they are planning a 2025 transformation for this site and it would make sense for most works to be done during the closed season given the location of this site and the impact it would have on the feel of the park as you enter if works were to be continuing during opening next year.
Personally, I think it’s great to see Thorpe Park finally do something with this site and I expect we’ll see something happen to the other side in the near future too.
Whilst Depth Charge is a less-thrilling ride it’s been part of the park for many years and I still enjoy a ride on it and am glad to see that this suggests it’s staying in the park (at least for now).
I think the size of the space will help capacity for performances during events and will free up space in other areas of the park so the area around Ghost Train doesn’t feel so crampt during events.
What do you think of the plans? We’ll be posting updates on the blog as soon as we know more but with designs for a new hotel also surfacing it doesn’t look like Thorpe Park are going to be slowing down any time soon and this Amity beach development could provide a new entertainment area for any subsequent hotel.
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