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London Paramount resort: Emerging plans for direct roads from the motorway and British film-themed attractions to go on show in consultation
10:00, 22 October 2014
Plans to put British films alongside Hollywood blockbusters – and build direct roads from the motorway – will be unveiled at new exhibitions on the proposed Paramount-themed resort in Kent.
The developers behind the £2bn scheme will show off their emerging plans for the project on the Swanscombe Peninsula at 12 events beginning on Wednesday, November 5.
They form part of the second phase of consultation on the London Paramount Entertainment Resort, having begun officially in July.
The exhibitions will also confirm the revised timetable for the project, with the grand opening date delayed to Easter 2020, as revealed exclusively by the KM Group last week.
A new logo for the resort has also been revealed, although it may not be the final version when the first of the expected 15m visitors a year arrive.
While details of the plans remain under lock and key, it is expected the exhibitions will shed some light on how the park will use Paramount’s 3,000-film back catalogue and its future projects.
Unlike Disney World and Universal Studios, the resort will not exclusively feature Paramount material but will also feature attractions based on movies produced by British production companies.
Fenlon Dunphy, director of developers London Resort Company Holdings, said: “One of the key things with Paramount was their willingness to allow British intellectual property into the site as well.
“We are very adamant it will have an eclectic mix of stuff. We are very clear it has to have a British identity as well.
“We want to show [people at the consultation] how the plans are emerging. It won’t be the end game but will show how the process is developing.”
London Resort Company Holdings have also revealed the boundaries of the scheme.
The developers are in advanced negotiations with both major landowners to secure an option agreement on the land but it does not own the land at present.
The plans are also expected to reveal aspirations to create direct roads to the resort from both directions of the A2.
It is understood bosses are looking at tunnelling under London Road – which links Gravesend, Swanscombe and Greenhithe – and the adjacent railway line. This road would also be used to pick up people travelling to the park via Ebbsfleet International.
The 12 consultation events will be split over two weeks between Gravesham and Dartford, which will host five each. The other two will take place in Thurrock and Maidstone.
More than 2,000 people attended the first phase of the consultation at four exhibitions held in July.
Some 84% of respondents expressed an interest in attending a workshop event in early 2015, with transport and job opportunities particularly popular themes.
Another 77% said they would like to be kept up to date on the proposals through the use of email bulletins, with 49% choosing newsletters and 24% leaflets.
Mr Dunphy said: “The feedback we received from the public events in the summer has been instrumental in shaping how we run our next stage of consultation.
“With events across numerous venues in the area in November, and further events planned next year, we hope to speak to as many local people as possible.
“We are delighted that we are now at a stage to share exciting information about the proposals and we hope local people can come along to see our emerging masterplan and share their views with the team.”
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