Thanet District Council (TDC) has revealed that it is to serve a compulsory purchase order in order to take control of the former Dreamland theme park site in Margate, Kent.
The local authority is working in partnership with the Dreamland Trust on efforts to create a new tourist attraction on the site, which will contribute to the wider regeneration of the town.
A compulsory purchase order is due to be served after talks with the current owner, Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, collapsed.
Under the Dreamland Trust's plans for the site, a new amusement park containing a number of historic rides, classic sideshows, vintage cafés and gardens will be created.
TDC chief executive Richard Samuel said: "Because of the importance of this site to the town's future, we need to take action to ensure that the heritage amusement park goes ahead.
"Huge amounts of money have already been invested to bring this project to fruition and we can wait no longer for agreement from the landowners.
"This is not something we wanted to do, but the failure of the owners to reach a sensible agreement has left us with no choice but to take compulsory purchase action."
