Tayto Park’s proposed €25m (US$33.6m, £19.8m) expansion has hit trouble after inspectors from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said it was concerned that a proposed €8m (US$10m, £5m) rollercoaster would be built "within sight and hearing of animals".
The Irish state body also warned that due to insufficient barriers, there was a danger that people could be attacked by a large type of bird housed in the park known as a rhea.
A spokeswoman from Tayto Park said it had installed a sound and visual barrier around the location of the roller coaster, and have also increased its distance from animals. The wooden rollercoaster, to be designed and built by Gravity Group, is set to be one of the largest in Europe – reaching heights of 32m (105 ft) and speeds of 100kph (62mph).
The educational amusement park – which features a variety of animal exhibits, a tour of the Tayto crisp factory and a variety of adventure activities and rides – was Ireland’s sixth most-attended paying attraction in 2013, with 450,000 visitors. The park forecasts the 18-hectare expansion could help bring visitor numbers up as high as 850,000 by 2019.
