Lightwater Valley: Theme Park set to create 'glamping pod' resort on site a year on from The Ultimate closure - once longest rollercoaster in the world

The theme park announced the closure of the famous rollercoaster The Ultimate in early 2023 – as covered in The Yorkshire Post.

The Ultimate has delighted thousands of visitors to the Ripon theme park since it opened in 1991.

Then the longest rollercoaster in the world, it became so beloved among enthusiasts that it was recreated in the videogame Rollercoaster Tycoon.

The Ultimate never re-opened after the coronavirus lockdown.

A year on, plans now look to be in place to create a set of 31 glamping pods on site.

In January 2013 planning permission was granted for the change of use of land to allow the siting of 106 holiday units with relevant supporting units.

However, a recent planning application was submitted to change the plans for the North East of the site from lodges to glamping pods – smaller in size and with less environmental impact.

The glamping site is set to be pedestrian access only.

The pods are considerably smaller in size than the lodges and the application stated “replacing the highways with footpaths reduces the overall impact of the scheme in terms of biodiversity.

The application has now been given the green light by the planning authorities.

More details of the scheme are set to be released next month.