A COUNCIL-inspired scheme to put a giant theme park on Southampton's waterfront is against the law, leisure chiefs have discovered.

Plans to put some of the biggest white-knuckle rides in Europe on Mayflower Park in a deal with a touring theme park company have had to be abandoned.

As Mayflower Park is public open space, fencing it off and charging people to get in is against the law as set out in the Hampshire Act 1983.

Leisure chiefs insisted little time had been wasted on the plans, which would have involved firm Funderland setting up a pleasure palace for three weeks a year in the park.

Four rides are still to be offered by the company as part of the Tall Ships 2000 festivities next year, but it was hoped a bigger theme park could become part of an annual money-spinner for the council.

A spokesman for the city council said: "Officer time was the only resource committed to exploring this proposal and this is justified by the need to scrutinise all proposals of this nature. When we subjected it to detailed examination we found it was legally impossible to hold it in Mayflower Park because of the provisions of the Hampshire Act, which is a complex piece of legislation."

Councillor Julian Price said the council would now look at other options. "It would be a perfect solution for the town arena, which would be large enough to do it."

No firm plans for a town arena have been drawn up, though residents have long been promised an open space in the heart of the West Quay development. The City of Southampton Society opposed the moves at Mayflower Park.

Chairman Keith Hubble said: "We are relieved that a theme park won't be going to Mayflower Park but the town arena was intended to be an open space, somewhere green in the middle of all the new development for people to meet.

"If they want a theme park, they should put it on the east of the city."

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.