LONDON RESORT: LAND EARMARKED FOR £2.5BN DISNEYLAND-STYLE PARK ON SWANSCOMBE PENINSULA GOES UP FOR SALE

The company which owns much of the land earmarked for the multi-billion pound Disneyland-rivalling London Resort project is up for sale - potentially driving the final nail in the coffin of the ambitious theme park proposals.

Swanscombe Development LLP owns some 372 acres of the peninsula as well as around 39 acres of the Manor Way Business Park.

It had granted an option for the team behind London Resort to buy the land to build the leisure complex. But that expired in December 2022 and has not been renewed since.

London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) which was behind the £2.5 billion park plans, had invested more than £4m in acquiring the option - all non-refundable in the event of no purchase.

But now Swanscombe Development LLP - a 50/50 joint venture between Aggregate Industries and Anglo American International Holdings is up for sale. And with it, the freehold on the land.

Property firm Savills is handling the sale - for an undisclosed sum - and is inviting offers up until a deadline of July 26.

In its description of the site, Savills says: “The land forms part of an area that is the subject of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) status relating to the proposed London Resort entertainment resort/theme park.

“It was subject to a Development Consent Order submission accepted for examination in January 2021 but later withdrawn. The London Resort scheme retains NSIP status.

“An option agreement in favour of London Resort lapsed in December 2022 and has not been renewed.”

The land comprises of the former Swanscombe Cement Works, which closed in 1994.

Much of the peninsula was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest by Natural England in 2021 - a categorisation which is thought to have derailed the London Resort scheme.

London Resort Company Holdings and Aggregate Industries have been approached for comment.

2024-06-27T11:58:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd