UP TO £25,000 will be invested in leisure facilities at Maldon's Promenade Park to bring more visitors to the town's biggest tourist attraction.
Maldon District Council has start to consider a number of suggestions by businesses hoping to provide new leisure facilities to the park, which had over 500,000 visitors last year.
The council wants to invest between £10,000 to £25,000 to help set up new ventures such as cycle and boat hire, beach huts and crazy golf, with a view to creating long-term, sustainable businesses.
Chairman of the friends of Promenade Park, Bob Wyness, 65, said: "This is great to see. The more leisure facilities that the visitors can use in the park then the better, and we welcome any improvements ready for the summer.
"We always work closely with the council to improve the park and any upgrade on the facilities is going in the right direction to pull more people into the prom which, in turn, means more custom for firms."
Conservative district councillor Mark Durham said: "I've been discussing with councillors for a long time how to improve the park and I'm delighted that new facilities could be made ready for the summer season.
"We are lucky to have such a good park in the centre of the town. Last year was a bumper one in terms of visitors and we would love to see an improvement on that."
Already the authority has applied for planning permission for eight new beach huts, which could be available for hire.
Independent councillor for Maldon West, Mark Heard, added: "The park itself is Maldon's biggest tourist attraction, thousands of people from Maldon and out of town come to use the park.
"Families flock there and we would love to encourage anything that improves facilities."
Maldon District Council this week asked residents to respond to a 15-question survey to find out what new facilities users would like to see in the park, which can be completed online at www.maldon.gov.uk/surveys/prom.
It will run until Tuesday, September 30.
In recent years, Promenade Park has undergone an extensive makeover with the saltwater lake being drained and replaced with an ornamental lake with fountains and swans.
There is a new children's play area which includes a galleon, an aerial runway and a children's water splash park.
It also has a skateboard park and BMX track with a number of takeaway food kiosks.
A Maldon District Council spokesman said:
"From the expressions of interest which we have received we hope to be able to select a business partner or partners to take these projects forward.
"It is hoped that we may be in a position to see some of these new facilities for the summer."
And in his budget speech in February, the leader of the council Bob Boyce committed to starting a three-year project to restore the Great War avenue of trees in Promenade Park.
Deputy mayor for Maldon councillor Stephen Nunn said: "We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful park here since 1895 and anything that can make the park more enjoyable for the thousands that use it is a good thing."
