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The company that owns the land designated for the proposed London Resort is now up for sale, with the failed project potentially reaching the end of the road following this latest blow
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 02 Jul 2024
The London Resort is a £2.5bn proposed mega-development centred around a theme park to rival Disneyland in size and scope Credit: LRCH
The much-hyped but yet-to-be realised £2.5bn (US$3.2bn, €2.9bn) London Resort seems to have had the final nail hammered into its long-expected coffin after the company which owns much of the land earmarked for the project placed itself up for sale.
Swanscombe Development LLP, which owns 372 acres of the Swanscombe Peninsula, as well as 39 acres of the Manor Way Business Park, is now up for sale, with the freehold of the land on which the London Resort would be developed included with its purchase.
London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH), which is behind the ambitious London Resort project, has spent more than £4m (US$5.6m, €4.7m) in acquiring an option to buy the land, but that option expired in December 2022 and has not been renewed.
The London Resort project - pitched as an attraction set to rival Disney - has faced significant issues since its announcement, particularly after much of the peninsula was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Natural England in 2021, making development of the site very difficult.
The site is home to animals including water voles, otters, birds and a rare species of spider. Both ITV and the BBC had until recently been involved in the project, but both companies withdrew their participation in response to these environmental concerns.
The resort’s developers said the amended plans would protect nature on site, while also delivering jobs, money and the regeneration of a brownfield site.
In July last year, a number of conservation groups wrote to the UK’s Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove, asking him to axe the controversial London Resort theme park development.
The government had said that the environmental impact of the project would be considered once a new planning application had been submitted, adding that the project “remains of national significance due to its size and importance for driving economic growth”.
Savills is handling the sale of the land, with the company inviting offers up until July 26.
Theme park
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