The new park is said to rival Disneyland Paris. The proposed development would create up to 27,000 jobs and transform an undeveloped 872-acre site in the Swanscombe Peninsula in Kent.
The ‘world-class’ venue will feature Europe’s largest indoor water park, theaters, live music venues, attractions, cinemas, restaurants, event space and hotels and, if given the green light, will be twice the size of Olympic Park in East London. The site is on the doorstep of Ebbsfleet International railway station, which is 17 minutes from London and two hours from Paris.
Tony Sefton, project leader for the development company London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH), said the plans were Britain’s biggest post-Olympic project and will take six years to build.
“Our vision is to create a world-class entertainment destination, the first of its kind in the UK,” he told The UK Daily Mail. ‘We are at the start of a long journey, but have been encouraged by the support and buy-in we have had to date. We are particularly pleased with the appetite we are seeing from investors, who consider this a compelling investment proposition. Over the next 12-18 months we will be progressing the planning application, while embarking on a wide-reaching program of community consultation, while securing further commercial agreements with third parties. Our timetable for delivery, including the planning application process and construction timetable, is geared towards completion and opening in 2018.”
LRCH has signed an agreement with Paramount Licensing Inc, the licensing division of Paramount Pictures, to give exclusive UK licensing for a Paramount entertainment resort at the heart of the site. LRCH is also in negotiations with a range of major British brands to sign licensing agreements.
What Paramount’s films might provide a basis for any of the theme park’s attractions? The Friday the 13th and Indiana Jones series–and Transformers both distributed by Paramount–would good themes for rides. How to Train Your Dragon would be good for kids and a Top Gun style flight simulator is food for thought as well.
There were previously six Paramount theme parks in the US (i.e. King’s Dominion in Richmond, VA) but these were all sold-off and re-branded during a company re-shuffle in 2006.
Another Paramount theme park is set to open in Murcia, Spain, in 2015 and company chiefs predict it will draw in three million visitors to the area every year.
See the UK Daily Mail story here
RBR-TVBR observation: If you look at the Daily Mail story with photos of the land and model of the park, you’ll note the area looks very prone to flooding from The Thames River. The model looks like the park is built up on higher ground. So a good deal of expense for the park will be bringing in landfill and assuring the park is built up higher than the land that’s there now.
