"WE want to restore the park to its former glory. I want children to feel they're walking into a magic kingdom and have memories they'll keep for the rest of their lives." This is the vision of the future the joint boss of Civic Illuminations, Mark Knowles, unveiled for Happy Mount Park this week. The new company, which takes over the running of the illuminations later this year, has also pledged to slash the admission cost by half in a bid to double the number of visitors back to 100,000.

Mark told the Citizen: "There's been illuminations in the park for years and we want to improve them but they won't be the sole focal point. We'll be unveiling more concrete plans during the next few weeks."

At the moment the business consortium has a licence to run the illuminations for this season - from August to November - after former park boss Nick Westwell quit running the attraction.

Legal bosses at Lancaster City Council will decide in September if Civic Illuminations are to be awarded a long term lease to run the park.

Mark explained: "Before the Blobby fiasco there were about 100,00 visitors coming to the park and that's the kind of figure we want to attract again. Last year there were only between 50 and 60,000 visitors."

Nearby residents are also expected to be consulted for their views on the changes.

"We want to hear their ideas and allay any fears they might have. For a start there'll be no noise pollution, added Mark. He also stressed they had plans to meet with members of the local business community.

To get the ball rolling the new bosses are appealing for street entertainers such as jugglers and artists to perform in the park.

Ring Paul Jackson, Civic Illuminations operations manager, on (01768) 779143 if you would like to get involved.

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