Plans for a Robin Hood theme park in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, UK, have been dealt a serious blow after the project delivery partner was dumped by the local authority.

The visitor attraction, originally planned to open in 2015 at a cost of £13m (US$22m, €16m), was being delivered by Discovery Attractions.

The plans from Discovery include a Discover Sherwood Forest dome offering insight into the history of the forest, and The Village – exhibiting the medieval way of life with live entertainment, crafts workshops and live animals.

Plans also include an open-air theatre, torture chamber-themed scare attraction, a maze, an adventure play area and a 4D cinema showing a 10-minute Robin Hood film.

The attraction's crown jewel includes a daily entertainment show, produced in partnership with US-based BRC Imagination Arts.

Following Nottingham County Council’s (NCC) u-turn, plans are up in the air. The authority said it was still ‘fully committed’ to having a new visitor centre up and running at Sherwood Forest no later than 2017, while Discovery Attractions has pledged that the visitor attraction will happen - without the council’s backing.

The council claims Discovery has not managed to secure enough funding for the project, but Discovery has contested the decision, saying it has secured £60m (US$101.8m, €75.2m) funding pledged from overseas and UK investors.

A spokesman for Discovery said: “We still passionately believe in the Discover Robin Hood concept. Furthermore we are convinced it is eminently fundable and that this investment will be forthcoming in the near future.”

“Our negotiations with the funder we introduced to NCC in March are still ongoing and we believe our plans will come to fruition, albeit unfortunately not in partnership with NCC.”