Lost plans to build a Disneyworld-style theme park with a massive arena and two nightclubs in Greater Manchester

It was billed as a rival to Disneyworld... on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal.

In the early 1990s, developers unveiled an incredible plan to build a £70m theme park on wasteland at Pomona Docks. Space City, as it was dubbed, was set to include a 5,000 seat arena, two nightclubs, a roller coaster, a 3D cinema and an astronaut school.

Hoping to attract more than 1m visitors in its first year alone, it was to be based on the adventures of Mancunian spaceman Dan Dare, hero of the 1950s comic The Eagle, and his battles with his arch rivals the Mekons. Visitors would spend 'luna credits' instead of pounds at the 35 acre park, which would be split into four different worlds - Red Moon, Atlantis, Mekonta and Interplanetary Headquarters - linked by a monorail.

And to protect against the notorious Mancunian weather the whole thing was going to be undercover.

'Dan dares to turn docks into a theme park', read a Manchester Evening News headline as the plans were unveiled in 1992. The article quoted a spokesperson who boasted Space City would be Britain's top theme park and create 700 jobs.

"The park will offer a galaxy of rides including some of the solar system's greatest experiences," they added.

Trafford council were similarly enthusiastic and in December 1992 granted outline planning permission for the ground-breaking proposal.

In a BBC Newsround report from December 1992 filmed at Pomona Docks, a clip of which is still available on the YouTube channel of comic book site Down The Tubes, over a backing track of the Prodigy's Out Of Space, presenter Paul Welsh explained: "This piece of wasteland in the heart of Dan Dare's home city is about to be turned into his 'space city'.

"Permission's just been given for the £70m