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The Sun
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
New plans for 8,000-seat stadium, hotel & thousands of homes next to site of disastrous ‘£3.5bn British Disneyland'
BRITS were thrilled to learn of plans for a new 8,000-seat stadium, hotel and thousands of homes next to the failed £3.5billion UK Disneyland. London Resort was first announced back in 2012, with plans to build on the Swanscombe Peninsula in Kent. 9 9 However, the theme park ran into a number of problems over the years, including the site being designated an SSSI for nationally important invertebrates, breeding birds and plants. And in January earlier this year, a High Court judge ordered London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) into liquidation. But, just stone's throw away from the imagined theme park, there are plans for a new major development. As reported by The Times, the Northfleet Harbourside project would see 3,500 houses, and 8,000 seater stadium for Ebbsfleet United, hotel and retail sites. The developers say it will create a brand new community and 3,000 jobs. Plans have been met with mixed reaction, with some hailing the proposals for the prospect of more wealth injected into the area. Others are concerned about how small local businesses with fare if they are edged out of their industrial sites. Despite objection, the developers were given the go ahead in February last year. The public inquiry stage began today, and it was understood fears were raised over several issues. A primary worry was the fact that the failed £3.5billion Disneyland and the Northfleet Harbourside project were linked through Abdulla al-Humaidi. New theme world at paulton's park Mr al-Humaidi was the businessman who ran the failed Dartford attraction until he was made bankrupt in November 2023. However the London Resort Company, which was headed by Mr al-Humaidi, say he is now no longer involved with the new plans. The Dartford Disneyland was supposed to welcome visitors last year, with funding from Paramount. But Paramount, which is owed £13.5 million, claimed in legal action that Mr al-Humaidi had been convicted of fraud several times in Kuwait. 9 9 9 Mr al-Humaidi argued all convictions had been overturned on appeal. The controversial businessman was hit with a three-year-prison sentence in absentia for one outstanding conviction - which he said he will appeal. Artist's impressions promised at least six roller coasters, themed fantasy lands and even a giant fairytale-style castle, all squeezed onto a peninsular jutting into the Thames Estuary. Partnerships were even announced with Aardman Animation - the team behind Wallace and Gromit - and the BBC, with hopes for Doctor Who and Top Gear -themed rides. It was to be surrounded by 3,500 rooms in plush hotels, swanky restaurants, and even two brand new ferry terminals, bringing hope that the project could sustain 33,000 local jobs. To say that the £2.5billion plans were ambitious would be an understatement. But after being announced in 2012, the theme park became bogged down in a planning and legal quagmire that dragged on for thirteen years. The fact the area was declared as a site of special scientific interest further halted operations. And despite the magical promises from CGI mockups and developers, for people in the area the saga has been anything but a fairytale. Mr Al-Humaidi, said the park had 'destroyed' his life and "ruined" his reputation. Timeline of London Resort October 2012 - The London Resort is announced as London Paramount Entertainment Resort, to open in 2019 April 2013 - Discussion over development after discovery of a rare species of spider May 2014 - London Paramount Entertainment Resort granted Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project status December 2014 - Partnership with BBC Worldwide announced March 2015 - Partnership with Aardman Animation and BFI announced September 2015 - Opening date pushed back to 2021 November 2016 - Waterpark plans scrapped, opening date pushed to 2022 June 2017 - Paramount pulls out, with park renamed as The London Resort September 2017 - Opening date pushed back to 2023, with estimated costs rising to £3.5billion November 2018 - Opening date pushed back to 2024 April 2019 - Partnership with ITV Studios announced. November 2021 - Natural England designates the area as a SSSI for nationally important invertebrates, breeding birds, plants and geology March 2022 - Resort application is withdrawn March 2023 - London Resort Company Holdings goes into administration April 2023 - A Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) is agreed on May 2023 - The transfer of a plot of land, considered a material change, occurred without prior notice to the CVA supervisor June 2024 - Swanscombe Development LLP, the land for The London Resort, is listed for sale October 2024 - Paramount tells the High Court that LRCH had not adhered to their obligations under the CVA December 2024 - The judgement is published New Year 2025: Further High Court hearings are scheduled to decide the fate of London Resort January 2025: A court hearing will determine whether LRCH can enter administration The London Resort had been designated a NSIP - a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. To proceed, it needed to secure what's known as a Development Consent Order (DCO). But just a day before years of preparation were due to begin to be presented before planners, in March 2022, London Resort dramatically withdrew the plans, citing environmental and transport issues. LRCH had limped on ever since - regularly promising to resubmit its plans - but with no real progress made. The NSIP status - which is listed on the Planning Inspectorate website as applying to LRCH - is likely to die with the company, lifting the cloud of uncertainty which has hung over businesses on the peninsula in recent years. The judge's decision coincided with the Planning Inspectorate awarding legal costs to a host of companies which had conducted work ahead of the DCO bid, before it was shelved, due to LRCH's 'unreasonable behaviour'. It said the withdrawal of the DCO was made 'without sound reason, and exceptional circumstances have not been demonstrated'. These included the likes of the Kent Wildlife Trust, Bugs Life, National Highways, Network Rail and a joint submission by Kent County Council, Dartford Borough Council and Ebbsfleet Development Corporation. LRCH has also been told to pay costs to Merlin Entertainments, a rival theme park operator and the company behind the likes of Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park. It had opposed the plans. Now an Irish company called Landmarque Property Group has taken over managing the Northfleet Harbourside project. Landmarque is owned by Sierra Investments, which was controlled by Mr al-Humaidi from 2018 to November 2023. Ebbsfleet United, which is also controlled by al-Humaidi's family, is in partnership with Landmarque. Gravesham council has said the development was being delivered 'in partnership between Landmarque and Ebbsfleet United'. In a statement, NC1 said: 'This project has the support of the community, Gravesham council and Ebbsfleet United supporters. It is opposed by a small number of organisations with a commercial interest. 'We look forward to the planning inquiry and getting on with investing into the local community.' COMMUNITY CONCERNS Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce fears the Northfleet Harbourside development could jeopardise over 40 companies that are already established on the site. The director of CPP-LM, which has ran for nearly 50 years, said it could be the end of their manufacturing business. Sam Youseman told The Times: 'Moving is a cost in the six figures. If we are forced too far away, our trained staff won't be able to move with us. "The impact is massive. If we are facing a compulsory purchase order here, it is a potentially business-ending level of disruption." The 35-year-old said a "functioning industrial estate" would at stake. 'I can't blame the developers for wanting to make money. But there is no reason their commercial interests should trump those of the companies who have been on this estate for years," he added. 9 9 9
Telegraph
23-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Taxpayer loses £5m on ‘Dartford Disneyland' disaster
The taxpayer lost £5m on a doomed attempt to create a £3.5bn Disneyland rival on the Thames Estuary, it has emerged. The Future Fund, the £1.1bn vehicle championed by Rishi Sunak that invested in more than 1,000 companies during the pandemic, has lost its whole investment after the company behind the theme park was wound up. The London Resort nicknamed the ' Dartford Disneyland ' was backed by the Hollywood giant Paramount and was the first commercial site in Britain to be designated as a nationally important infrastructure project. Due to be built in Swanscombe, Kent, and backed by the Kuwaiti tycoon Abdulla Al-Humaidi, it planned to build attractions based on classic films such as The Godfather and The Italian Job. However, the plans were partially scuppered by conservation campaigners and the discovery of a rare species of jumping spider around the site. Accounts for London Resort Company Holdings show that it received £5m from the Future Fund, the maximum investment the Covid-era vehicle could make in a company, in 2020. Under the terms of the fund, loans which were matched by private investors would then convert into equity stakes when a company later raised financing. The London Resort was added to a list of the fund's investments in 2023, indicating the taxpayer loan had been converted to shares in the company. Last month, the company was wound up by a judge after a protracted legal battle. Paramount had sued the company for unpaid debts and the company breached repayment agreements with creditors. The Future Fund did not make investment decisions but would match funding when companies raised funds from private sources. It was set up during the pandemic to provide support for loss-making start-ups that would not qualify for other support schemes. However, questions have since been raised about the design of the fund after it ended up with hundreds of stakes in companies such as a sex party organiser and Bolton Wanderers Football Club. The fund lent money to 1,192 companies. The latest figures published by the British Business Bank (BBB) show it has seen cash returns from 86, while the fund retains stakes in 680 companies. 309 have gone insolvent, while 117 still have loans outstanding. Figures from the Department of Business and Trade dating to last April show that the fund has made a paper loss of almost £250m. A BBB spokesman said: 'It would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases given commercial sensitivities however the Bank will always aim to secure value for money and to protect the taxpayers' interests.''
