The consultation revealed in detail how this largely brownfield, former industrial site, would be transformed into 'one of the most exciting destinations in the world'.
73% of people said they supported the London Resort’s approach to the environment and biodiversity, with 51% strongly supporting it. 74% were in support of the approach to sustainability and 65% agreed that the London Resort will benefit the local area in the longer term.
Another hot topic in the consultation was around traffic and how people will get in and out of the London Resort. 70% of respondents supported the approach to sustainable transport and minimising impacts on the road network (50% strongly in support). 80% were in support of keeping London Resort traffic separate from local traffic with 52% in strong support.
When asked the question at the end of the consultation, 16% of responses remained strongly opposed to the masterplan. Of the 64% who stated their support, more than double (44%) were strongly in favour.
The consultation, which lasted eight weeks, reached over 120,000 members of the public including 105,000 leaflets sent to areas of Gravesham, Dartford and Thurrock. There were targeted press notices across regional, local and social media, digital advertising promoting the consultation and an email newsletter was sent to nearly 11,000 businesses and interested parties. Notification emails were also sent to MPs, local councillors and stakeholder organisations.
The consultation saw over 27,000 people visit the London Resort website. Over 800 people attended twenty public webinars, over 1,000 questions were asked and answered. An additional 17.5 hours of webinars were held with key stakeholders including local authorities, parish and town councils. To date, 1,200 public consultation responses have been analysed, with final checks now being undertaken, (a 65% increase on 2015’s Consultation).
To date, across the five consultations which have been staged since 2014, nearly 9,000 people have either attended events or webinars with a total of 1,931 feedback forms received.
It would be the first development of its kind in Europe since the opening of Disneyland Paris in 1992. If successful in securing development consent, construction could begin in early 2022.
The development scheme at the Swanscombe Peninsula will be in direct competition with other UK theme parks, with an estimated 50 rides and attractions based on many popular brands from film and television.
The London Resort has struck deals with Paramount Pictures, the BBC and ITV for naming rights to rides and attractions.
The plans include two theme parks, several hotels and Europe's largest indoor waterpark. It aims to attract an average of 40,000 visitors per day and should create around 33,000 jobs.
At one time the project was set to open in 2019, but repeated delays to the submission of its planning application mean that the first theme park would now open in 2024 and the second in 2029.
PY Gerbeau, The London Resort's CEO, said:
“Sustainability is at the core of our vision. Through the consultation, people were able to digest hundreds of pages of the latest analysis and environmental studies. It was also, quite rightly, a topic which engendered a lot of questions. For three quarters of people to be in support of our plans is hugely rewarding; we would like to thank everyone who responded, we are taking all feedback very seriously.”
“Getting to this point has not been easy, but the public has responded overwhelmingly in favour and for that we are deeply grateful. We will go through all of the feedback and use it to help inform our approach and further develop our proposals. But there is no doubting, that our aim of creating one of the most exciting entertainment destinations in the world, here in the UK, has taken another big step towards becoming a reality. We now look forward to submitting our DCO application later this year.”
