As it embarks on a £4.5 million ($5.7m) plan to bring its history and heritage alive, the UK’s Wicksteed Park has appointed Ian Bartlett as its new managing director.
He joins the leisure park in Kettering, Northamptonshire, after previously working at The Cornwall Hotel, Spa and Estate; Bluestone National Park Resort in Pembrokeshire and Amazing Venues, which provides unique hotels, locations and settings for events across the country.
Bartlett said he was thrilled to be given the responsibility for driving forward the park’s development and growth as a family attraction, with the help of the senior management team he has put in place. He also paid tribute to the work of the Wicksteed Charitable Trust, which owns and oversees the running on the park.
Wicksteed Park combines 147 acres of beautiful parkland and an Edwardian pavilion with rides and attractions for all the family. The ambitious Historic Heart project is renovating the original heart of the park as the centrepiece and social hub of its restoration, environmental, community and educational agenda.
The park was founded in 1921 by Charles Wicksteed, the creator of swings and slides as we know them today, as part of his vision to inspire and encourage play as part of families’ health and well-being.
