Adrian Bayford's Theme Park Dream Runs Out of Steam
People still remember that wave of disbelief back in 2012. Adrian Bayford, an everyday postman from Suffolk, hit the news for pocketing a jaw-dropping £148 million with a single EuroMillions ticket. But unlike most fairy tales, Bayford's story has been far from smooth sailing. Now, his most ambitious scheme—a children’s theme park—has officially been shelved after strong opposition and a tangle of local concerns.
Bayford’s plan was bold: take 20 acres of countryside surrounding his historic Grade II-listed Horseheath Lodge, on the Suffolk-Cambridgeshire border, and turn it into a vibrant “leisure destination.” The vision included outdoor play zones, educational sensory trails, animal petting areas, and a barn focused on renewable energy activities. He even dreamed up space for 13 full-time workers and commercial units for small local businesses to grow. The design came complete with a 90-space car park, aiming to keep things running from sun-up to late afternoon.
But just as the blueprints left the planning office, red flags started popping up everywhere. Councillors from the local parish were less than thrilled. They painted a picture that quickly wiped away any thoughts of children laughing and families learning. The area, they argued, just wasn’t built for daily crowds—a new flood of cars would bring headaches on narrow country roads. Add worries about flood risks and the possibility of wrecking a prized walled garden that’s part of the lodge’s long heritage, and support for the project crumbled almost overnight.
Despite Bayford submitting thorough plans only two months ago, the resistance pushed him to formally withdraw his proposal in March 2025. For locals who’d already started debating whether a theme park really fit this sleepy corner of the countryside, the news came with a mix of relief and quiet disappointment for what it could have brought business-wise.
Bayford’s Unpredictable Ride Since the Jackpot
This isn’t the first twist for Bayford since his life-changing win. His fortune thrust him into the national spotlight, but it hasn’t bought him lasting peace. Reports over the past decade have detailed a string of personal setbacks, from his high-profile divorce from Gillian (with whom he shared the prize), to failed relationships and incidents that made for salacious headlines. Friends say he’s tried to keep a low profile since, using his estate for charity events and music festivals, although none ever matched the scale of this abandoned park scheme.
Some locals had cautiously welcomed the theme park's promise—13 new jobs and affordable business units aren’t easy to come by in rural Suffolk-Cambridgeshire. Others dreaded the thought of losing the quiet charm they’d always cherished. Either way, the council’s objections, focused on practical issues like traffic congestion and flood risk, proved insurmountable.
For now, Horseheath Lodge will remain just a grand country home surrounded by fields and the passing interest of those who remember one of Britain’s biggest lottery wins. As for Bayford, it’s another chapter in a remarkable and often rocky story that just keeps getting longer—and he’s still unmistakably “unlucky in love” when it comes to ambitious projects.