What’s happened to the North Pole Experience?
CHRISTMAS ATTRACTION SHOULD BE OPEN BUT IS STILL ONLY ‘HALF COMPLETED’ – WITH THORESBY ESTATE NOW SEEKING LEGAL ADVICE
FAMILIES are fuming after buying tickets for a Christmas experience at Thoresby Park that has been plagued by problems. And now there are fears it might not go ahead at all.
The opening of The North Pole Experience was due to take place at the start of November, with the company citing a number of reasons, such as supplier issues and the weather, for that not happening.
But Thoresby Estate, which is hosting the attraction, has now confirmed it is seeking legal advice, stating: “The North Pole Experience has failed to meet their obligations to us and the public.”
The set-up on the grounds is “half completed”, according to a statement from the estate, and hasn’t yet opened. Thoresby Estate has not yet cancelled the contract, but when trying to book tickets on The North Pole Experience website, a message saying “maintenance mode, sorry for the inconvenience” is displayed and has done since yesterday morning.
Customers who bought tickets for their friends and families, some of whom paid just under £200 in total, have been left angry and concerned about what will happen next.
John Clark, 29, was planning to travel to Thoresby from Cleethorpes with his family, including three children aged nine, eight and six. The finance worker has set up a Facebook page for concerned customers.
Mr Clark, who bought tickets for December 11, said: “We have no idea what’s going on. We’ve tried to contact the company but haven’t heard anything back.
“It’s so frustrating, especially as I paid £31.99 a ticket for five tickets.
“The biggest thing for us isn’t the money, it’s that everywhere else is fully booked at this time of year and we were looking forward to it as our main Christmas event for our kids to see Santa.
“But now that’s going to be almost impossible.”
Sarah Spencer, 37, a police officer who lives in Duffield, Derbyshire, had bought eight tickets at a discounted price for her and her extended family, including her children aged two and five, but still paid just under £200 to visit on December 12.
She said: “We’d cancelled a holiday to Center Parcs this year because of Covid, as my two-yearold is vulnerable with severe asthma, so this was going to be their North Pole for the year.
“It’s supposed to be massive, with elves greeting you, rides and things like that, but now I’m concerned.
“It’s annoying as we’re being left in limbo, and I’m not sure if I should book something else or not.”
Rod Nipper, events manager at Thoresby Park, said: “It’s a great shame. The original proposal was amazing but, unfortunately, you have to take that on trust.
“They have a previous track record in putting on theatrical productions and they passed all our usual checks with Companies House and that sort of thing.”
In a statement, Gregor Matheson Pierrepont, director of the estate management company at Thoresby Park, said: “We were approached by The North Pole Experience Ltd who were looking for a venue for their winter festival.
“They seemed competent and were able to provide references and we hoped to enable another successful event to wrap up the year.
“Unfortunately, this has not come to pass.
“The continued failure by The North Pole Experience to open, despite half completing their setup, has disappointed us as much as anyone else.
“The estate does not believe this is due to malice. However, the outcome is the same. North Pole Experience have failed to meet their obligations to us and to the public.
“We encourage members of the public to obtain redress from The North Pole Experience Ltd.
“As such we are instructing our legal advisers and therefore will be unable to make further statements. While responsibility for this situation rests with the event operator, the estate would like to apologise for any disappointment.”
In response to not opening over the weekend, a statement from The North Pole Experience said: “It is true there have been circumstances beyond our control which has resulted in us unfortunately experiencing two setbacks in the opening of the event.
“Supplier delays, that are being experienced across the wider economy, resulted in an initial deferral of the event opening as we felt that we could not guarantee these interruptions being resolved in order for us to provide the standard we would expect.
“We have worked hard to resolve these issues which has enabled us to proceed with the experience build-up.
“In order to give as much notice to our customers, the decision was reluctantly made to not open this weekend due to three principal factors: the safety and well-being of our customers, ensuring as much prior notice as possible and advice from our own insurance and health and safety advisers.
“Every customer that was directly affected has been emailed via the email address that was given at the time of booking.”
The North Pole Experience has been contacted for further comment but hadn’t responded by the time this edition went to press.