A long-awaited plan to build a £3.5 billion ‘UK Disneyland’ on the outskirts of London has finally been scrapped following a row over funding and the conservation of a rare type of spider. Plans for ‘The London Resort’ were unveiled nearly 14 years ago, which was to be located on the Swanscombe Peninsula between Dartford and Kent and was billed as Britain’s equivalent to Disneyland Paris.
Image Credit: Metro [A previously issued visual prepared for the Hollywood-styled fairground to rival Disneyland which was once planned for Kent. Paramount has since pulled out of the deal. CPhoto released December 29 2024. The company behind a proposed multi-billion pound theme park dubbed the 'Dartford Disneyland' is being taken to court by Hollywood studio Paramount. London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) had hoped to build the controversial attraction on the 372-acre Swanscombe Peninsula near Dartford, Kent. First announced back in 2012, the huge park was envisioned to feature rollercoasters, water parks, hotels and live entertainment venues and would have been at least three times the size of any other theme park in the UK. However, after various planning snags and racking up debts of ?100m, the proposed park now faces a battle to stay alive.]
Promoters of the scheme boasted huge partnerships with the BBC, ITV and Hollywood studio Paramount, which would have seen attractions based on Top Gear, Paddington Bear, Mission: Impossible and Doctor Who. Other features were set to include eight huge roller coasters and different zones containing medieval castles, an Aztec pyramid, a 2,000-seat theatre and a nightclub.
Image Credit: Metro [SWANSCOMBE, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: A view the Swanscombe Peninsular on February 01, 2021 in Swanscombe, England. The peninsular sits on the South side of the Thames Estuary shoreline, an important feeding ground for wading birds and other marine wildlife, and comprises of reedbeds and marshland. The UK's Planning Inspectorate recently cleared an application for a ??3.5bn Theme Park project, which is led by London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH), and will now face a 12-to-18 month public inquiry before receiving approval to start construction. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)]
The resort, which was predicted to create 30,000 jobs and bring in 12 million visitors a year, was due to finally open its doors in 2024. But after accruing over £100,000,000 in debt and falling afoul of Natural England’s decision to designate the land as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the project has finally been shut down.
Image Credit: Metro [A previously issued visual prepared for the Hollywood-styled fairground to rival Disneyland which was once planned for Kent. Paramount has since pulled out of the deal. CPhoto released December 29 2024. The company behind a proposed multi-billion pound theme park dubbed the 'Dartford Disneyland' is being taken to court by Hollywood studio Paramount. London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) had hoped to build the controversial attraction on the 372-acre Swanscombe Peninsula near Dartford, Kent. First announced back in 2012, the huge park was envisioned to feature rollercoasters, water parks, hotels and live entertainment venues and would have been at least three times the size of any other theme park in the UK. However, after various planning snags and racking up debts of ?100m, the proposed park now faces a battle to stay alive.]
Following a High Court application by Paramount, who is owed £13,000,000 by investors, Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Sally Barber found the London Resort Company has ceased trading and ‘appears unlikely ever to do so again’, the Times reports.
Natural England also said the site’s former industrial use had created a landscape with ‘ideal conditions for a unique variety of wildlife’, including a variety of plants, birds, and the distinguished jumping spider – one of the rarest insects in the country.
![[A previously issued visual prepared for the Hollywood-styled fairground to rival Disneyland which was once planned for Kent. Paramount has since pulled out of the deal. CPhoto released December 29 2024. The company behind a proposed multi-billion pound theme park dubbed the 'Dartford Disneyland' is being taken to court by Hollywood studio Paramount. London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) had hoped to build the controversial attraction on the 372-acre Swanscombe Peninsula near Dartford, Kent. First announced back in 2012, the huge park was envisioned to feature rollercoasters, water parks, hotels and live entertainment venues and would have been at least three times the size of any other theme park in the UK. However, after various planning snags and racking up debts of ?100m, the proposed park now faces a battle to stay alive.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234458216-2cde.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[SWANSCOMBE, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: A view the Swanscombe Peninsular on February 01, 2021 in Swanscombe, England. The peninsular sits on the South side of the Thames Estuary shoreline, an important feeding ground for wading birds and other marine wildlife, and comprises of reedbeds and marshland. The UK's Planning Inspectorate recently cleared an application for a ??3.5bn Theme Park project, which is led by London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH), and will now face a 12-to-18 month public inquiry before receiving approval to start construction. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234622709-ebd4.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[A previously issued visual prepared for the Hollywood-styled fairground to rival Disneyland which was once planned for Kent. Paramount has since pulled out of the deal. CPhoto released December 29 2024. The company behind a proposed multi-billion pound theme park dubbed the 'Dartford Disneyland' is being taken to court by Hollywood studio Paramount. London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) had hoped to build the controversial attraction on the 372-acre Swanscombe Peninsula near Dartford, Kent. First announced back in 2012, the huge park was envisioned to feature rollercoasters, water parks, hotels and live entertainment venues and would have been at least three times the size of any other theme park in the UK. However, after various planning snags and racking up debts of ?100m, the proposed park now faces a battle to stay alive.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234458298-683c.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
