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London Entertainment Resort: All Discussion
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Shaggy_Dog_
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Thing is though Thorpe Park really doesn’t need to get the family market back through the gate when Merlin have got Legoland Windsor just nine miles away in one direction and CWOA sixteen miles in the other direction.
GooseOnTheLoose
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The purchase of Thorpe Park, by Tussauds in the 90s, was specifically so that COWA wouldn't have to compete with it. COWA would be the family park, Thorpe park would become the thrill park. COWA also has a tougher time with planning permissions, similar to Alton, whereas Thorpe has a much easier time, so the latter can build bigger and more exciting things.
MaxPower
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Of course Thorpe was always meant to be targeting a different demographic under Tussauds/ Merlin, but look at the absolute mess it's resulted in the park becoming as a result of this decision.
I suppose what I was trying to get at was that it would've been better for everyone had someone like Universal come in originally and created something that competed with the Tussauds / Merlin monopoly rather than just becoming what it has; a glorified Six Flags park.
I suppose what I was trying to get at was that it would've been better for everyone had someone like Universal come in originally and created something that competed with the Tussauds / Merlin monopoly rather than just becoming what it has; a glorified Six Flags park.
jon81uk
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The problem with the plan that they were trying to go ahead with was that is was neither in London or in a part of the country particularly easily accessible. That’s why Thorpe and Legoland work, they are to the west of London so still easy to get to by car from the rest of England as well as London.
Danny
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From blooloop:
Abdulla Al-Humaidi, a key backer of the troubled London Resort, a proposed theme park in Kent, UK, was declared bankrupt at a recent High Court hearing. The Kuwaiti businessman resigned from the London Resort board last year but previously served as director of London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH).
Located on the Swanscombe Peninsula in Kent, east of London, the ambitious £2.5 million theme park project has encountered numerous obstacles over the past ten years and not much progress has been made, despite having strong government support and being designated as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).
In March 2022, LRCH withdrew its planning application for the theme park after the Swanscombe Peninsula was confirmed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Natural England, saying it planned to resubmit an application in the future, a goal that it reiterated after PY Gerbeau stepped down from his role as CEO of the London Resort in December 2022.
In March 2023, LRCH appointed administratorsafter incurring £100 million in debts.
It was also recently announced that US media and entertainment giant Paramount Global, an early partner in the project, is now suing The London Resort in the High Court. The court case revolves around the restructuring implemented in April 2023 by LRCH, giving creditors equity in exchange for money owed.
Paramount is arguing that this is unfair due to “irregularities”. The entertainment firm, “is alleging debts that affected the vote were inflated and assigned to a third party in a ‘sham’ transaction and is demanding to see the documents that underpin those dealings.”
Last year the Save Swanscombe Peninsula campaign team alongside RSPB, CPRE Kent, Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife revealed an “alternative vision” for the site.
Abdulla Al-Humaidi, a key backer of the troubled London Resort, a proposed theme park in Kent, UK, was declared bankrupt at a recent High Court hearing. The Kuwaiti businessman resigned from the London Resort board last year but previously served as director of London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH).
Located on the Swanscombe Peninsula in Kent, east of London, the ambitious £2.5 million theme park project has encountered numerous obstacles over the past ten years and not much progress has been made, despite having strong government support and being designated as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).
In March 2022, LRCH withdrew its planning application for the theme park after the Swanscombe Peninsula was confirmed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Natural England, saying it planned to resubmit an application in the future, a goal that it reiterated after PY Gerbeau stepped down from his role as CEO of the London Resort in December 2022.
In March 2023, LRCH appointed administratorsafter incurring £100 million in debts.
Latest troubles for London Resort
According to the Telegraph, creditors are chasing Al-Humaidi for millions of pounds. He first made an investment in the project in 2013, after the rescue of the local non-league football team Ebbsfleet United, and his brother Dherar Al-Humaidi joined the board four years later.It was also recently announced that US media and entertainment giant Paramount Global, an early partner in the project, is now suing The London Resort in the High Court. The court case revolves around the restructuring implemented in April 2023 by LRCH, giving creditors equity in exchange for money owed.
Paramount is arguing that this is unfair due to “irregularities”. The entertainment firm, “is alleging debts that affected the vote were inflated and assigned to a third party in a ‘sham’ transaction and is demanding to see the documents that underpin those dealings.”
Last year the Save Swanscombe Peninsula campaign team alongside RSPB, CPRE Kent, Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife revealed an “alternative vision” for the site.
Alastair
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At last the mask is ripped off. Surely there can be no more speculation now? Even if my brain did melt attempting to read the first sentence of that!
Stuie
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Jonathan
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About as much chance of it happening as there is of me turning straight.But... surely there's still a chance?
KolonelKlink
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While Universal gathers a nice head of steam, one of the last senior people left on the London Resort project - former London mayoral candidate Steve Norris - has quit and admits nothing will happen “for a while”:
www.kentonline.co.uk
Another blow for theme park plans as key figure quits £2.5bn project
Another leading figure behind ambitious plans to build a multi-billion pound entertainment park in the county has quit.
Jonathan
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I refer you to my comment from January.While Universal gathers a nice head of steam, one of the last senior people left on the London Resort project - former London mayoral candidate Steve Norris - has quit and admits nothing will happen “for a while”:
Another blow for theme park plans as key figure quits £2.5bn project
Another leading figure behind ambitious plans to build a multi-billion pound entertainment park in the county has quit.
Matt N
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It would appear that this project may be officially dead after 12 years, as much of the land it was due to be built on is now up for sale (well, the company that owns it is now up for sale): https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent-b...nd-london-resort-site-now-up-for-sale-308959/
LRCH originally had an agreement with the current owner to buy this land after gaining planning permission, but this agreement elapsed in December 2022. With the land now being sold on, it would seem that there’s no conceivable way that this park could ever be built.
LRCH originally had an agreement with the current owner to buy this land after gaining planning permission, but this agreement elapsed in December 2022. With the land now being sold on, it would seem that there’s no conceivable way that this park could ever be built.
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Rob
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It is dead, and has been for a long while! There's more chance of Alton Towers building a 500ft tall rollercoaster than a theme park ever opening on the Swanscombe Peninsula.
Thankfully Universal are seemingly well on their way to filling the void left by this complete failure of a project.
Thankfully Universal are seemingly well on their way to filling the void left by this complete failure of a project.
DistortAMG
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You've only just realised it is dead?!?!
Matt N
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I more meant officially dead, as rightly or wrongly, the minds behind it have been persistent in insisting that they would be opening a resort on that land despite the many, many setbacks. They never officially announced that it was dead and continued to maintain that they were building it; regardless of how dead you and I thought it was, the minds behind the project never officially confirmed its demise, with them even still implying persistence after the Universal announcement.
I’m aware that most on here have thought it dead for years, and even I myself, as one of the greater optimists around the project in the late 2010s and early 2020s, have thought it dead for at least a couple of years. The SSSI designation in late 2021 was the final nail in the coffin for me; that seemed to completely kill any semblance of momentum, and everything that happened after that was not great. After that SSSI designation, I saw little way that it could ever happen.
As much as I was outspokenly optimistic about it in the late 2010s and 2020, I’ve thought this project dead for a good couple of years now. And to be honest with you, I mentally moved on from it the second that Universal announced their proposal in Bedford, which seems far more promising in pretty much every conceivable way.
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George W
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I still hold high hopes for the "UK's Disneyland" just kidding but I hope the enthusiasts and hopping spiders can finally make peace as long as they don't migrate to Bedford.
I always found this a weird project like was the company ever serious about building this? not sure what happened with the lawsuit? the fact last December they were still claiming it was going ahead, it's been a weird ride.
Already with universal we're witnessing what happens when a established company want to actually build something (although still not officially decided) and we've already seen so much more with universal than over a decade of paramount park.
I always found this a weird project like was the company ever serious about building this? not sure what happened with the lawsuit? the fact last December they were still claiming it was going ahead, it's been a weird ride.
Already with universal we're witnessing what happens when a established company want to actually build something (although still not officially decided) and we've already seen so much more with universal than over a decade of paramount park.
Tim
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Looking back on this topic I don't think any of us could have guessed that the final nail in the coffin (the one that stopped all the "but what if" speculation, even after it was long dead) would be Universal. When you think about it, negativity couldn't kill it, but confirmation that the concept was good, just in the wrong place and by the wrong people did. What an amazing note for this to end on!