Southend Council plans for modern Never Never Land

Never Never Land, which opened in the shrubbery of Southend’s Cliffs in 1935, was one of the city’s best known attractions during its golden age in the Fifties, before falling into disrepair and being taken down in 1972.

With castles, dragons and fairies lit from the trees above, as well as a model railway, families would queue for hours just to see the enchanted garden.

Now, Southend Council has announced it is working on plans for a modernised version of the old attraction opposite Adventure Island which would honour the original – with stabilisation works being looked at and funding identified. 

This will be part of the council’s “civic pride action plan” going to cabinet in January.

Never Never Land - The council could bring the iconic attraction back (Image: Newsquest) Iconic - Never Never Land with Adventure Island in the background (Image: Newsquest)
Lydia Hyde, Labour councillor responsible for climate, environment and waste, said: “The shrubbery holds a special place in the memories of many local people, and Never Never Land, which was once there, played an important part in that.

“We’re now working on plans for a modernised version of Never Never Land that honours the original while making it more relevant and exciting for today’s generation. This is all part of our efforts to create a city we can all be proud of.”

A restored 1980s version of the attraction never succeeded and was closed in 2000, however the council hopes this new version will capture the imagination of a new generation of youngsters in the city of Southend.

Landlord at the Borough Hotel on Southend seafront, Joan Tiney, believes the ambitious proposal is an exciting move from the council.

She said: “Anything to tidy up that area is positive, I remember I was in Southend when Never Never Land was done up, I was there and it was really nice.

“My children loved Never Never Land and it looked so nice and bright, not at all dreary - it is definitely another thing on the seafront we would love to see.

“We need things like that on the seafront, it is positive and we used to go there when it reopened in the 1980s, fingers crossed this does actually come off as it would be amazing.” 

In 2019, Southend artist David Taylor repainted and restored all six of the fantasy castles at Never Never Land, with the water fountain flowing once again.