Leisure Island Fun Park on Canvey Island has announced its closure after 20 years, with the Eastern Esplanade site cleared of all rides and facilities after a year of limited openings, fires and family loss. Sad times for Canvey traditions and even sadder times for the Petty family.

Leisure Island Fun Park has officially closed after 20 years of operation, with owner Scott Petty thanking the thousands of staff and visitors who supported the Easter Esplanade landmark.

The announcement follows a difficult year for the Petty family, during which they lost their “caring and selfless” son Charley to cancer, before a devastating fire at the park last September.

“We are sadly announcing the closure of Leisure Island Fun Park on Canvey Seafront,” said owner Scott Petty. “The site has now been cleared of all rides and facilities. Can we thank everyone who has supported us over the last 20 years we have been open.” 

“Also can we thank the nearly 3000 members of staff who worked at the park over the years. As everyone knows, 95 percent of our staff were 16 and 17 year olds and started their working life at the park. It’s so sad we have had to close the park but hopefully we have created loads of memories for the families that visited us.”

The closure was met with an outpouring of commiserations via social media, with more than 650 people sharing their memories of the park, or expressing their sympathy.

Leisure Island had been closed throughout 2024 as the Pettys cared for 30-year-old Charley, who passed away in August, just weeks before a fire destroyed the park’s toilet block, first aid room and baby changing area.

At the time, Petty told the Echo “due to the circumstances we are not making any decisions on time frames at the moment as we are mentally not in a good place.”