The London Resort (Paramount Park London)

[Guest]

I saw the new concept art this morning and it occurred to me that I have seen something very similar before... in one of Py Gerbeau's previous project locations. Before the O2 arena became successful the Millennium Dome (it's the same building for those of you who may not know) was a massive failure. Huge tourist attraction built on old industrial land in an area nobody valued, it now has thousands of apartments surrounding it, a rail link on the London tube network and is a destination for locals and tourists. It looks suspiciously like the new artwork coming out of the London Resort.

This new "concept art" literally features no theme park at all, unless you count the tiny scribble of a roller coaster and castle (?!) in the background of the first image. It shows housing, transport infrastructure and landscaping for external parts but no new concept art of the park and this press release was exclusively sent to a tourist publication - with no real reference to any tourist attraction? This doesn't make any sense to me at all.

Image 1: Concept art released today on the left and actual images from Greenwich Peninsula on the right, note even the shape of the canopies shown in the concept which mirror the tube station and cable car station from Greenwich.



Image 2: This is the land for Greenwich and the O2 arena on the left and the land for The London Resort on the right. When the Dome was built the area in Greenwich was very similar to the land in Kent today, lots of old warehousing, docks and old industrial land.



The fact that Py left the Millennium Dome project when it failed and was never involved in the actual success of the O2 arena is irrelevant to the London Resort project in my opinion. The success of the O2 is in the creation of a destination with increased land value and thousands of apartments in an area of London that 15 years ago housed a failed tourist attraction and land nobody wanted to live on.

Concept Art from Blooloop

[LeeleeSTAR]

Not the most exciting article (it's a rumour about the construction company shortlist) but there are some weird things in here about financing and who is involved in this project that made me suspicious...

Source: https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/shapoorji-pallonji-among-4-finalists-for-535-acre-theme-park-uk-s-largest-120070500293_1.html

Well dissected and backs up my fears about the whole project. I just don’t think the site itself is suitable the project to start with. Don’t see if getting off the ground at all and I don’t believe there was ever any intention to do so.

[Guest]

Not the most exciting article (it's a rumour about the construction company shortlist) but there are some weird things in here about financing and who is involved in this project that made me suspicious.

One of India’s top conglomerates, the Shapoorji Pallonji group, is in the final lap to bag the construction mandate of the UK’s largest amusement park, persons aware of the development told Business Standard.

I cannot find any evidence that Shapoorji Pallonji group have any experience of theme park construction. They have some projects completed but nothing tourist attraction related. If anyone knows any different please let us know! The park is majority funded by a private Kuwaiti family and major contracts are being given to Indian companies including contracts for services which have previously been promoted as a benefit to the local community in Kent.

“The project is well-funded by Kuwaiti European Holdings (KEH), which is part of the Al Humaidi family of Kuwait. The family holds the majority shareholding in the London Resort Company Holdings. We are not raising any debt or equity currently,” Gerbeau said.

The holding company is also looking at sourcing other requirements from the country, Das said. “Hospitality and technology are some of the sectors of interest to us, where we are open to Indian partners,” he said.

This is the one that caught my attention though…

The project will also tap into the large base of high net worth individuals in India looking to invest in the UK. It is working on a real estate linked financial return product for 998 years with two weeks of free stay every year including free tickets. “It’s a unique asset class designed for investors in a post-Covid world,” said Das.

This is a classic timeshare scheme for investors looking to ‘buy’ into the UK, close to London. This as a way to finance a theme park, one that Gerbeau says in the article doesn’t need funding because of its owners, strikes me as incredibly strange.

It sounds very much like the schemes we saw in China a few years ago and Dubai before the financial crises where land was purchased under one set of rules because it included “major infrastructure” of a theme park but then the parks never got built with only apartments (or sometimes nothing) built on the site. There were many projects of this type, you only need to look through the history on this site on limbo/fail to see investors who never got what was promised.

Without wanting to sound too much like a conspiracy theory – these are the things I took from this article. A Kuwaiti investor working with an Indian construction company, with no history of delivering this type of project, is selling timeshares and contracts to Indian people and companies. They have land with access to central London in 17 minutes that isn’t eligible for building housing but by adding a theme park to the plans they bypass the regular planning laws. I would prepare for a phase 1 with housing developments and possibly hotels to “fund” the park and then nothing after that.

Source: https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/shapoorji-pallonji-among-4-finalists-for-535-acre-theme-park-uk-s-largest-120070500293_1.html

[Michael]

SouthParks has released details of the recently published Environmental Scoping report which reveals a few new bits of information.

Key details:
- Roller coasters will not exceed 40m, "mountains" will not exceed 60m and buildings will not exceed 32m
- A mixture of IP-based attractions and original themes are in the works
- They are still intending for a second gate to open in 2029 with an estimate of 12.5 million visitors per year (6.5 million for first gate in 2024)
- 4 hotels are planned totalling 3550 rooms with 2500 available for the opening of gate one, one hotel could be located within gate one in similar style to Disneyland Hotel in Disneyland Resort Paris
- A 3000 seat convention/conference centre is proposed along with an eSports arena and a number of theatres

More details about car parking, transport links, staff housing and more are in the link below:
https://www.southparks.co.uk/2020/06/24/london-resort-submit-scoping-report/

Thank you for posting Jart!

Included in the article is the link to the Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report itself which shows a recent design of the resort's masterplan by Rethink Leisure & Entertainment:


Early designs shown in the report:




Source: https://www.southparks.co.uk/files/2020/06/London-Resort-Scoping-Report.pdf

[Jart]

Environmental scoping now available for The London Resort.

SouthParks has released details of the recently published Environmental Scoping report which reveals a few new bits of information.

Key details:
- Roller coasters will not exceed 40m, "mountains" will not exceed 60m and buildings will not exceed 32m
- A mixture of IP-based attractions and original themes are in the works
- They are still intending for a second gate to open in 2029 with an estimate of 12.5 million visitors per year (6.5 million for first gate in 2024)
- 4 hotels are planned totalling 3550 rooms with 2500 available for the opening of gate one, one hotel could be located within gate one in similar style to Disneyland Hotel in Disneyland Resort Paris
- A 3000 seat convention/conference centre is proposed along with an eSports arena and a number of theatres

More details about car parking, transport links, staff housing and more are in the link below:
https://www.southparks.co.uk/2020/06/24/london-resort-submit-scoping-report/

[MouseEars]

The news story about a "UK Disneyland" is doing the rounds again with the British newspapers. Think this got started with the most recent news about further planning applications but it's all over news sites and social media again.

I know people say there's no such thing as bad news but you would think someone at The London Resort would try to manage these. They don't accurately portray the project at all.

Same story as previously with headline using the Disney brand and the same old concept art. Here's a selection of the sites hosting this "news"...

https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/news/incredible-plans-reveal-what-35bn-22163260
https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/18509129.new-plans-reveal-3-5bn-uk-disneyland-theme-park-will-look-like/
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/amazing-new-plans-show-what-18386235
https://www.timeout.com/london/news/plans-revealed-for-londons-new-theme-park-the-uks-answer-to-disneyland-060820

[Liam19]

Latest news from London Resort - 6th June 2020

https://www.essexlive.news/whats-on/whats-on-news/what-35bn-london-resort-theme-4200127

[MouseEars]

I have also just noticed that under the 'News' section there used to be a lot of "project documentation" but that area is now clear of any documents at all. Does anyone know when they were removed or does anyone remember what specifically was there that might now be irrelevant?

See here... https://londonresort.info/news/

[MouseEars]

Some more details for this new consultation.

Today, The London Resort announced it has taken four significant steps in its preparation to submit proposals later this year. Despite the massive disruption caused by COVID-19, The Resort’s expert team has maintained strong progress on its work and confirmed:

1. Proposals for a ‘late-summer / early autumn’ public consultation including online and ‘virtual’ engagement

2. Confirmed submission of a 300-page Environmental Scoping report by 12th June

3. Contacted advisors of affected local businesses, setting out terms for the acquisition of land including an additional premium

4. Written to the Community Liaison Group to help share information about the project

“The team have been immense, working incredibly hard during these awful times. I joined just under a year ago and we are always being asked to hurry up. Well, I am happy to tell you we have made strong progress and these reports are hugely important. This is a significant step in transforming an amazing and ambitious dream into reality.

“We obviously can’t hold a public consultation in the normal way – but we will make sure we reach out to local residents and businesses as well as the wider community and stakeholders. We are talking to Government about how we will be using digital technology, websites, video conferences and online Question and Answer Sessions.”

Source: https://londonresort.info/news/the-london-resort-announces-public-consultation/

[Michael]

As The London Resort works towards submitting its final masterplan, public consultations will "be held across August and September"

Sources: https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/theme-park-bosses-announce-digital-consultation-228200/ and https://www.copperconsultancy.com/insight/copper-provides-support-for-a-next-generation-theme-park-the-london-resort/