AN INFLATABLE assault course could soon be making a splash at a popular attraction.
Foxlake Adventures, near West Barns, has proven a great success since opening in 2012 as Scotland’s first overhead cable wakeboarding park.
Now, attraction bosses are looking to follow in the footsteps of their sister site in Dundee, Wild Shore Dundee, and create an inflatable acquatic playground featuring more than 20 various Ninja Warriors-style features, including Tyre Run, Ninja-Jump and Eagles Nest, a 3.8m Mount Rainer tower/slide, and 2m high freefalling slides.
Wild Shore Dundee is described as a “giant floating playground of adventure”, offering “a fun, safe and exhilarating experience”.
It is hoped the attraction could bring 20 new full and part-time jobs.
Under proposals lodged with East Lothian Council planners, a new body of water would be created to the south of the existing Foxfall lake.
A design and access statement included with the application from Foxlake Adventures CIC notes: “The proposed use for the newly formed lake would be to house an inflatable aqua park activity.
“This large inflatable playground forms an assault course style activity on the water.
“The inflatables will be anchored in place on the lake for the operational months and deflated and removed during the off season. There will be no permanent fixed structures or apparatus as part of the proposals.”
The local authority was urged to support the application, which, it is claimed, will provide “a further quality addition” to the site and also “create further employment opportunities” while safeguarding existing jobs.
The success of the overhead cable wakeboarding park, which has been used by athletes representing Great Britain, led to the creation of Foxfall, a low ropes challenge course suspended over a smaller lake, and a Segway experience.
However, the attraction was also badly affected by Storm Arwen in 2021.
A popular zip-line course, on which adventure-seekers could ‘fly’ from tree to tree, suffered substantial damage, with repairs estimated at up to £180,000.
The report with council officials noted: “With the zip course destroyed and lack of supporting trees, it renders the activity no longer a viable option due to the obvious financial gamble involved with reinstatement, coupled with the ever-worsening coastal climate.”
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