New images, designs and plans for the £5bn London Resort theme park, billed as the UK's answer to Disneyland, have been revealed.
The public consultation has been launched for one of Europe's most ambitious theme park projects ever, revealing details of a 3,500 room hotel, a 'High Street' featuring shops and restaurants, as well as two ferry terminals to take guests into the park via water.
The London Resort is an ambitious £5 billion project that, if approved, will see two twinned theme parks built in Swanscombe near Gravesend, with the first opening its doors in 2024 and the second in 2029.
When complete, the park will be three times larger than any other park in the UK, built across 535 acres, and will be the first European development of its kind to be built from scratch since the opening of Disneyland Paris in 1992.
The resort was first announced in 2012, and since then the road has been far from smooth with budget worries, sponsors pulling out and the park originally planned to open in 2019, but the developers have today launched its online public consultation.
Economically, the park promises to create 9,000 direct jobs and 20,000 indirect ones within the first year of opening, and nearly doubling after 15 years.
The new plans, due to be published today, reveal "a new vision, exciting content, environmental enhancements and economical benefits.
PY Gerbeau, the London Resort’s CEO, said: "The London Resort represents a unique opportunity to bring a thrilling and exciting global entertainment destination to the UK with a breadth of facilities.
According to the plans, around 70 per cent of the attractions will be undercover, to cope with the unpredictable English weather.
The park will also bring a multi-billion investment into the UK economy, and will create a 'green network of amenity areas and parkland' to benefit the local environment, the developers say.
The theme park will included themed rides and attractions from a number of iconic films, e-Sports, a water park and convention venue, hotels, retail and dining.
Developers also say a large proportion of the peninsula landscape will remain undeveloped, instead enhanced for wildlife with natural features seamlessly integrated into the theme park's designs.
“It will generate multi-billion-pound investment, thousands of jobs, and will transform a largely brownfield site into one of the most exciting entertainment destinations in the world, said PY Gerbeau.
“As well as maximising new, immersive and interactive technologies, our aim is also to be one of the most sustainable major theme parks in the world, pursuing an operational net zero emissions goal."
He said they had listened, analysed and considered all the feedback given so far, and said it was "incredibly important" for local communities to continue contributing.
The Statutory Consultation period will last from July 27 until 11.59pm on September 21. Webinars, online Q&A sessions, telephone surgeries and other activities will take place throughout the seven week period.
Also part of the plans is a network of pedestrian and cycling routes on the Swanscombe Peninsula, as well as two ferry terminals and riverside wharf alongside transport interchanges.
The developers aid in June that despite Covid-19, they had made strong progress this year and are now asking the public to have their say on the park, who are able to give their own opinion on the development.
You can access the consultation, when it's all been uploaded, here.
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