Plans for a “British Disneyland”-style theme park suffered a devastating blow after developers put its land up for sale.
The site of the The £3.5bn complex is located on 535 acres of former industrial land on the Swanscombe Peninsula, near Dartford in Kent.
The attraction would feature 50 rides, including eight roller coasters and different zones containing medieval castles and an Aztec pyramid, as well as a 2,000-seat theater and a nightclub.
Swanscombe Development LLP had put forward an option for the team behind London Resort to purchase the land to build the leisure complex.
However, that lease expired in December 2022 and has not been renewed since.
A British theme park has suffered a devastating blow after developers put their land up for sale
Dubbed the “British Disneyland”, the £3.5bn theme park site is set on 535 acres of former industrial land on the Swanscombe Peninsula, near Dartford, Kent.
The attraction was to feature 50 rides, including eight roller coasters and different zones containing medieval castles and an Aztec pyramid, along with a 2,000-seat theatre and a nightclub.
With plans to make it three times larger than any other UK theme park, equivalent to 136 Wembley stadiums, it represented the biggest investment in Europe since Disneyland Paris in 1992.
The original site would have included a water park, a conference and convention center and an esports facility.
More than 3,500 hotel rooms would be created next to two ferry terminals, one on each side of the River Thames.
Politicians and local councils were optimistic about the project, expecting the complex to create more than 30,000 jobs while boosting the economies of nearby Gravesend and Dartford.
However, dreams of a shiny new attraction for thrill-seekers in the UK now appear to be shattered.
London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH), the company behind plans to build the park at a cost of £3.5bn, had invested more than £4m to purchase the option, which is non-refundable if the purchase is not made.
Swanscombe Development LLP, a joint venture between Aggregate Industries and Anglo American International Holdings, is now up for sale along with the freehold of the theme park land.
Real estate company Savills is handling the sale for an undisclosed sum and is inviting bids until a deadline of July 26, according to kent online.
Savills’ description of the site reads: ‘The land forms part of an area which is the subject of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) status relating to the proposed London Resort theme park/entertainment complex.
‘It was subject to a development consent application which was accepted for consideration in January 2021 but was later withdrawn. The London Resort project retains its NSIP status.
“An option agreement in favor of London Resort expired in December 2022 and has not been renewed.”
The site consists of the former Swanscombe Cement Works, which closed in 1994.
A map that proposes the layout of the theme park, whose construction seems increasingly unlikely
The site consists of the former Swanscombe Cement Works, which closed in 1994.
A large part of the peninsula was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Natural England in 2021 due to its grasslands, wetlands, bird and invertebrate species, including some of the UK’s rarest spider species.
Conservation groups involved in the Save Swanscombe Peninsula campaign, which is against the theme park proposals, say the potential sale of the land does not surprise them.
Sally Smith, press and advocacy officer for Kent Wildlife Trust, said: “It hasn’t come as a complete surprise – plans for the London Resort and theme park on the site have been stalled for some time.”
“We have been fighting to have that special planning removed from the site so that nature can be protected for future generations.”
“As this looms over the place, there is total uncertainty about what will happen there.”