BLACKPOOL'S 'pleasuredome' is intended to do for the Pleasure Beach what the Epcot Centre did to Disneyworld.

The dome - pencilled in for an area of car parks and council buildings between Bloomfield Road stadium and the Borough Park cinema complex - would provide a 'second gate' for the resort and encourage long-stay visitors.

The project - one of the most ambitious parts of Blackpool's masterplan - is likely to be some years away.

Consultant Tim Magill set out the thinking behind the 'second gate' idea: "We have got a great theme park here in Blackpool, the Pleasure Beach, which is a one or one and a half day stay. We need to give customers something to do on a second day.

"Many theme parks build their first major attraction, then build a second attraction to complement it, which is what they call a second gate."

Along with the Centre Parcs style indoor swimming and leisure attraction would be an 'Exploratorium' modelled on a San Fransisco museum. They would be complemented by family and casino hotels and inter-linked by covered walkway to the nearby conference centre.

The arrival of the 'pleasuredome' would see the end for the Sandcastle leisure centre, due to be replaced by a massive aquarium.

However, council chief executive, Steve Weaver, says the Sandcastle isn't finished yet.

"We will invest in the Sandcastle and it will be there for the foreseeable future. It would be silly to say that this idea is set in stone."