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London Entertainment Resort: All Discussion

Although if this falls through and no planning app is ever put in the councillor have had a nice trip paid for by council tax :p
 
I'm totally surprised and shocked that they aren't looking at certain closer parks for comparison. ;)
 
£15,441, for 9 people, that's £1,715 each, they must be staying somewhere very nice, or are flying business class no doubt.
 
Spotted a rather more cynical take on the same jaunt in Private Eye while I was away.

vYfYesk.jpg


Clearly a pressing need to go to Florida to see what a single mid-size theme park will be like in the south of England.
 
Just came across this when reading my local news:

The proposal has been given 'Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project' status :)

Kent Online said:
Plans to build a £2bn Disney-style theme park in Kent have moved a step closer after gaining special government status today.

A public consultation on Paramount Park is expected to begin in just months after it was dubbed a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) by the communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles.

The move means the project is on track to open in the first half of 2019, creating 27,000 jobs on an 872-acre site on the Swanscombe Peninsula.

A planning application is expected to be submitted next year, but this development means the consortium behind the project – London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) – will be able to apply directly to the Secretary of State for planning permission, rather than the usual route via local authorities.

In his letter to the firm, Mr Pickles said the project is "likely to have significant economic impact... on an area wider than a single local authority".

The move has the support of Dartford Borough Council, Gravesham Borough Council and Kent County Council.

London Resort Company Holdings director Fenlon Dunphy said: "We welcome the decision. It reflects the unique economic and regenerative opportunity provided by this multi-billion pound project, which will employ thousands of people and be a huge additional offering to the UK’s entertainment and tourism industries.

"It also allows us to deal concurrently with all the planning and regulatory requirements, therefore providing greater certainty over the planning and regulatory timeline for the project, which will help us to meet our objective of opening the resort in the first half of 2019.

"Now that we have received this confirmation [from the government], in the coming months we intend to launch a formal programme of pre-application consultation with the North Kent community and all relevant national and regional stakeholders.

"This programme of engagement will continue through to the first half of 2015, at which point we expect to submit a planning application to the Planning Inspectorate."

The NSIP status for Paramount was made possible after changes to rules on significant infrastructure projects earlier this year, opening it to major leisure schemes, sports stadia and business initiatives.

Paramount is the first business or commercial project to earn the status.

Dartford council leader Cllr Jeremy Kite said: "The London Paramount project is a key part of local regeneration ambitions and fits perfectly with the wider vision emerging for the area.

"This is great news and I am delighted that local people will have the opportunity to play their part in the design and evolution of the entertainment resort when LRCH starts its formal consultation later this year."

Gravesham council leader Cllr John Burden said: "This latest announcement is great news for the north Kent community.

"It moves us one step closer towards delivering the significant economic and employment benefits associated with this potentially iconic entertainment destination."

Kent County Council leader Cllr Paul Carter said: "London Paramount is a transformative project that could generate significant inward investment across Kent.

"Kent County Council will continue to work with LRCH and the relevant borough councils over the coming months to ensure that the region maximises this unique development opportunity."

The letter issued to London Resort Company Holdings by the Department of Communities and Local Government said: "The secretary of state considers that the proposal would be likely to have significant economic impact, be important in driving growth in the economy, and that it would also have an impact on an area wider than a single local authority area.

"The secretary of state also considers that the substantial physical size of the proposal is relevant to his decision that this project is of national significance."
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Source

:D
 
Excellent, all sounds very promising! Boosts my confidence of this all happening as well, exciting times ahead I hope!

:)
 
I really hope this goes ahead so we can have a world class theme park in the UK and to give Merlin the kick up the arse it deserves/needs.
 
News! London Resort Company Holdings are to hold public exhibitions of their plans :)

Kent Online said:
The company behind the proposed Paramount theme park in Kent will hold a series of public exhibitions on its plans this month.

London Resort Company Holdings says the events mark the beginning of a year-long consultation process ahead of an expected planning application next year.

The £2bn venture is set to be the first commercial project considered under special regulations designed to speed up the process of getting building underway.

Dubbed a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, the park on the Swanscombe Peninsula would create 27,000 jobs if it is given the go-ahead.

The company has sent 89,000 invitation letters to residents and businesses in Dartford and Gravesham near to the proposed 700 acres site as part of this first phase of its consultation, of which it says there will be four stages.

They have also contacted local authorities in Bexley, Bromley, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge & Malling, Medway, Thurrock and Kent and Essex county councils.

This section of the consultation aims to gain local people’s thoughts about how they would like to be involved in the process leading up to construction getting underway.

London Resort Company Holdings director Fenlon Dunphy – who is also on the board at Ebbsfleet United Football Club – said: “We are looking forward to meeting the local community and ensuring that they are involved in every stage of the year-long consultation process.

“We think it is important that we consider the most appropriate and accessible way for people to be involved in our proposals for the London Paramount Entertainment Resort.

“We hope that everyone will fully embrace the opportunity to take part in the first stage of public exhibitions, which are specifically designed to establish the preferred communication and consultation methods of the local community and interested parties.”

The public exhibitions will be held on:

Thursday, July 10 from 2pm to 8pm

Ebbsfleet Academy (in the sports hall)

Southfleet Road, Swanscombe, DA10 0BZ

Friday, July 11 from 11am to 2pm

Eastgate (North Kent Community Church)

141 Springhead Parkway, Gravesend, DA11 8AD

Friday, July 11 from 4.30pm to 8pm

British Legion Greenhithe

London Road, Greenhithe, DA9 9EJ

Saturday, July 12 from noon to 5pm

Swanscombe Leisure Centre

Craylands Lane, Swanscombe, DA10 0LP
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Source

:D
 
Gets better - the government have "...recognised it as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project". Source :)

Almost 90,000 letters have been sent out across Kent, UK, seeking the views of local households and businesses as plans to build the world’s fourth-largest theme park at nearby Ebbsfleet push forward.

The £2bn (US$3.3bn, €2.5bn) development was classified in May as a project of national significance by the British government. As a consequence, the resort will benefit from an accelerated planning application process. In the year prior to submitting its application, London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH), the firm behind the project, has said it will engage with the local community during a four-part consultation process.

Four public exhibitions are scheduled to take place this month, and the community has been asked to attend the exhibitions, ask questions and provide feedback to LRCH. According to the developer, these observations will flag up the issues on which local people want to be consulted.

“[We want to find] the most appropriate and accessible way for people to be involved in our proposals for the London Paramount Entertainment Resort,” said LRCH director Fenlon Dunphy. “The first stage of public exhibitions is specifically designed to establish the preferred communication and consultation methods of the local community and interested parties.”

The London Paramount Entertainment Resort, due to open 2018, will be built on an 872 acre (1.3sq m, 3.5sq km) site and will generate an estimated 27,000 jobs, making it one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe and the fourth-largest theme park in the world.

For those reasons, the government recognised it as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). NSIPs are major infrastructure developments, which can include major leisure, stadia and business schemes as well as power plants, large renewable energy projects and major road projects, which are considered to be of national importance.

Because of its NSIP status, the planning application will not be submitted to or decided by the local authority, but the government’s Planning Inspectorate.
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The 4th largest theme park in the world? I assume they just mean in terms of area, otherwise a very rash statement.

This is still all great news, fingers firmly crossed this eventually becomes a reality.

I would also imagine this will be a more 'Disney' approach to a theme park though, rather than lots of ground breaking coasters like Alton & Thorpe.

I think this will be a good thing, but I doubt it will take a lot of business straight away, after a gauge of investment and types of investment we will know more of course.
 
I'm still confident that it will happen! I'd imagine the next 12 months are going to be key.

:)
 
smudge said:
I would also imagine this will be a more 'Disney' approach to a theme park though, rather than lots of ground breaking coasters like Alton & Thorpe.
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This is pretty much what I'm expecting too. However, I don't think it will exactly be a bad thing.

I mean, for starters, taking the Disney approach of fairly simple hardware massively tarted up for headliners (I know that there are some exceptions with the dark rides for example, but generally with coasters and such they tend to play it safe) is something that none of our parks *really* do. Most of the major UK parks seem to put the hardware first, and then the theming and story are a bonus. It would be a new approach in the UK, and would hopefully see people becoming more conscious of how themed experiences are meant to be.

Also, with our big parks often leaning more to hardware it means that generally we get some of the better coasters and layouts. Compare the number of big thrills (B&M and Intamins) on our island to the US ones, and then think about the quality of layouts we get. I'd say we have more good than bad, though obviously a lot of this is opinion. We have Nemesis, Oblivion, Stealth, and The Smiler here to name a few. Trying to top them is no small challenge, so why attempt to and run the risk of opening a ride which just isn't as good?

It'll be interesting to see it unfold, but to me it's the most logical approach to take.
 
Rob said:
I'm still confident that it will happen! I'd imagine the next 12 months are going to be key.

:)
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I have little doubt the "development" will happen, I just worry it will fall into the "entertainment complex" category rather than a theme park. There are plenty of non-theme park competitors to Merlin (HP studios for one) what we need as a THEME PARK to push Merlin into either selling up or actually having some pride in their parks.
 
I'll just be happy with another major tourist attraction, anything else like dark rides and coasters will be a big bonus. Another Studios Tour style experience but with added shows, shops and restaurants would be fine by me, though I certainly believe a few rides will be built as that's one of the main aspects of the project.

I too don't doubt that it isn't going ahead now, but I don't want to get my hopes up too much because we've experienced disappointment from concepts here in the UK falling short of what they were supposed to look like, or not even materialising at all. :(
 
If we have any hope of the likes of Alton Towers and Chessington getting a stark improvement in quality we need paramount to be an out and out theme park.
 
I have full faith that should this development go ahead, that it will be of a very high standard.
 
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