Council seeks Tropicana partner

A £23m development of the leisure site collapsed

North Somerset Council has appointed a team to remarket the Tropicana centre on Weston-super-Mare's seafront.

Developers Mace pulled out of a £23m plan in November to renovate the leisure site which has been derelict since it was closed in 2000.

A mail shot is due to be sent to developers who have already expressed an interest in the property.

The council is hoping expressions of interest will be lodged by 8 April, with a shortlist made on 13 April.

Interviews and bids for the development are to be made to the council by the middle of June.

Councillor Alan Hockridge said: "We are seeking a development partner who can put forward a viable commercial leisure scheme to create a year-round attraction."

Mace had wanted to build a hotel, leisure complex, multi-screen cinema and restaurants in the £23m development.

There has been a pool on the seafront at Weston since the 1930s, but declining visitor numbers in the 1990s saw the council vote to close it.