Popular Tenby attraction changes hands as Simon and Amanda Meyrick step back

A POPULAR Pembrokeshire family attraction has been sold, bringing to an end more than three decades of ownership by the family who built it from the ground up.

The Dinosaur Park, near Tenby, has officially changed hands after owners Simon and Amanda Meyrick announced their retirement following 32 years running the business.

Founded in 1994, the park has become one of Pembrokeshire’s best-known family attractions, welcoming generations of local children and holidaymakers through its gates.

Set in countryside just outside Tenby, the attraction features more than 90 dinosaur models, 36 rides and activities, play areas, a family fun activity house, woodland trails and animatronic exhibits, alongside cafés and takeaway food outlets.

For many families, the park has become a summer tradition, with more than 650 families reportedly holding season tickets and schools regularly visiting for educational trips.

The Meyricks confirmed the sale in a heartfelt message to customers, staff and supporters.

“As many of you will know the Dinosaur Park has been on the market and it has now sold,” they said.

“Time waits for no man or woman and after 32 years of creating and building the park into the business it is today our bones and brains are creaking.

“To all of our lovely customers we thank you for being part of our journey.

“To our season ticket holders, many of whom have become like an extension of our family, to all our staff over the years and our suppliers, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

“It’s been a blast and we hope the park has given you all some treasured memories too.”

The couple added that they were pleased the attraction would continue under new ownership.

“We wish the new owners all the very best of luck and are excited to know the park will be in safe hands for the future,” they said.

The sale comes after a strong period of national recognition for the attraction. Last year, The Dinosaur Park was ranked sixth in a UK-wide study of the best value-for-money theme parks by entertainment site Sudoku Bliss.

It was also named among the best-value theme parks in Britain and later recognised by Tripadvisor as being in the top 10 per cent of attractions worldwide.

While the identity of the new owners has not yet been publicly announced, the news marks the end of an era for one of Pembrokeshire’s most recognisable visitor attractions.

A CALL for a time extension for plans for housing on the site of a former “blot on the national park” seaside turkey farm has been given the go-ahead.

In an application recommended for delegated approval to senior officers at the June meeting of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s development management committee, Mark Chapman, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd sought permission for a further three years’ time extension for a previously-granted scheme to build four homes at the former turkey farm, on land off Blockett Lane, Little Haven.

The application was before the committee as it was recommended for approval despite the local community council, The Havens, objecting to the scheme, and it being a departure from the local development plan.

The Havens had objected to the scheme on the same grounds it objected to the original 2021 application for four dwellings granted in 2022, saying there was a poor access road, very narrow, with no pavement leading to the village for pedestrian use.

An officer report recommending approval said: “The application site comprises a parcel of brownfield land which historically formed part of a turkey farm complex located to the south of Little Haven. The wider site has been subject to extensive residential redevelopment, with several dwellings completed and others under construction on adjacent land. The site is also subject of a current enforcement notice relating to storage of shipping containers.

“The applicant has advised that development has been delayed due to an ongoing civil dispute relating to access rights, which has prevented commencement within the original timeframe but which the applicant believes to be resolvable.

“As the application is in outline form and seeks only a time extension, there are no changes to the scale, layout, or form of development for assessment at this stage with only indicative plans having been received.”

Speaking at the meeting, agent Andrew Vaughan-Harries of Hayston reiterated it was hoped the civil matter could be addressed to “deliver this important development”.

He added: “The old turkey farm and sheds were a real blot on the national park, on a sensitive spot on the clifftop, a real eyesore.”

He said developments on-site so far had seem them cleared, with the “sensitive development” expected to net up to £90,000 in affordable housing contributions to the authority.

On the community council access concerns, he said: “Perhaps they are newer members who don’t remember a busy turkey farm and its traffic; at the end of the day Little Haven is a pretty little village with narrow roads on all sides.”

Committee chair Cllr Simon Hancock, said committee-viewed aerial pictures of the turkey farm site were “stark” in comparison with its now-cleared state, moving approval, which included some 16 conditions.

Members backed the recommendation of approval.

PLANS to diversify a National Trust campsite on the Pembrokeshire coast, with seasonal siting for campervans and ‘landpods’ have been approved.

In an application recommended for delegated approval at the June meeting of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s development management committee, the National Trust sought permission for a change of use of land for camping, the seasonal siting of five ‘landpods’ and 20 campervans and associated works at Gupton Farm, near Freshwater West.

The application was before the committee rather than being decided by planning officers as it is an application recommended for approval which was a departure from the adopted Local Development Plan 2.

An officer report recommending approval said the 4.5 hectare site currently operates as an established seasonal campsite under a National Trust exemption certificate, with a permission dating back 10 years or so for five campervans and 45 tents, and a maximum of 50 pitches.

“The proposal seeks to formalise and diversify the existing operation by allowing greater flexibility in accommodation type and pitch management whilst maintaining the existing overall site capacity of a maximum of 100 people and 50 pitches per night.”

It added: “The submitted information confirms that the proposal does not seek to increase overall occupancy levels at the site but instead proposes a redistribution of accommodation types through increased campervan provision and the introduction of seasonal landpods. The landpods are proposed as free-standing seasonal structures with no permanent drainage or utility connections and would be removed from the site during December, January and February.”

It says that, while the scheme represents a departure from planning policy “due to the sensitive coastal landscape location,” officers consider “that the seasonal nature of the proposal, the established exempted camping use, the absence of any increase in overall site capacity, the landscape-led design approach and the significant biodiversity and visitor management benefits weigh in favour of the proposal”.

The report adds an original pre-application proposal conflicted in part [with policies] “due to the scale and sensitivity of the site location,” officers advising there could be scope to support “a reduced-scale, clearly seasonal proposal where robust landscape mitigation, ecological enhancement and visitor management justification could be demonstrated”.

It said the submitted application sought to address those concerns; the scheme which incorporates “significant landscape and biodiversity enhancement measures” is “specifically designed as a seasonal and reversible form of development, with the Landpods removed from the site outside the operational season and stored within an existing onsite barn”.

The report later said: “On balance, it is considered that the proposal would not result in unacceptable harm to the special qualities of the National Park and that the material considerations in favour of the proposal outweigh the identified policy tensions in this instance. The principle of the development is therefore considered acceptable subject to appropriate planning conditions.”

It is recommended to delegate conditional approval to officers following the end of a public advertisement period for a policy departure.

Moving approval, Dr Madeleine Havard, chair of the authority, welcomed the seasonal nature of the proposals and the offer of more formal pitches for overnight campervans in the area.

“No overall increase [in pitch numbers] is quite important; critical for me is this is seasonal, therefore we are able to ensure the pods are able to be taken away.

“The possibility it might be able to help the situation in the area regarding campervans as well, I think it’s also very positive.”

The application was approved with 15 votes in favour and one abstention.