THE owner of an outdoor adventure centre next to the A127 still hopes to secure its future, despite being forced to close.

Action Park, at Bonville Farm, Wickford, which operated a motocross track, assault course and paintball battleground, opened to visitors for the final time on Wednesday.

Basildon Council issued an enforcement notice demanding its closure because the park was developed on green belt land without planning permission.

Nearly 3,000 people signed an online petition calling on the council to allow the centre, which was visited by hundreds of youngsters a week, to remain open.

Schools, disabled groups, the fire service and Essex County Council were among groups which regularly used it for educational and recreational purposes.

Action Park said it had received no contact from the council since protesting outside its offices last month.

Owner Philip McCaul said: “We are still going to try to get into talks with the council because we want to sort something out. We just can’t understand why they want us gone.

“At first, the complaint was about noise, so we got acoustic specialists in to provide a solution, then the council threw in the green belt issue.

“We have had kids and staff crying about this and I feel sorry for my staff and, in particular, the children who have nowhere else to go.”

The enforcement notice requires the land to be returned to its natural state, but Mr McCaul said he was not in a rush to do so, in the hope he can persuade the council to allow the centre to remain.

He said: “We have got four to nine months, so there is no hurry. We want to explore every avenue possible to stay open.”

The council’s closure decision was supported on appeal by an independent planning inspector. The council said it could not overturn the inspector’s decision.