thumb|upright=1.2|The front of Tower Park, Poole

Tower Park is a leisure and retail park, located at Mannings Heath, in Poole, Dorset, England. It was one of the first complexes of its kind in Europe when it opened in 1989.

History

The leisure park, which opened in 1989, was a development initiated by local Dorset businessman Bill Riddle, who operated a landfill site in the area.

In 2003, Tower Park was sold to X-Leisure, a company headed by PY Gerbeau, which added it to its Xscape brand. The following year X-Leisure invested £5m in refurbishing and expanding the facilities in the park, including adding additional restaurant units. These included Pizza Hut, Nando’s and KFC.

The cinema was sold to Empire Cinemas in 2004 along with five other UCI theatres in other parts of the UK. Empire added an additional six screens and 500 seats in 2011, making the cinema one of the biggest multiplexes in the south of the country. In 2016, it was sold to Cineworld together with four other Empire cinemas. was re-branded as Buzz Bingo in 2018. In 2014, a chemical spill at the Splashdown Waterpark resulted in hundreds of people being evacuated from the attraction.

In 2013, X-Leisure was taken over by the UK’s largest property development and investment Group, Landsec. Tower Park continues to be listed by Landsec as one of its leisure properties on its website.

In late 2024, Tower Park will undergo a multi-million-pound refurbishment.

Attractions and amenities

The buildings at Tower Park occupy an area of 199,000 sq. ft., according to its ultimate owner Landsec. There is also a ground level free car park with disabled spaces. a Splashdown Waterpark with 13 outdoor and indoor flume rides, Buzz Bingo, Lemur Landings children’s softplay, Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, and a PureGym health club. In addition, food outlets and restaurants include, according to Tower Park’s website, Burger King, KFC, Nando’s, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Pizza Express. A Tesco superstore is also located at Tower Park.

References

  • Tower Park Complex Website