The team behind The London Paramount Entertainment Resort located on the Swanscombe Peninsula in North Kent has put back the submission date for its Development Consent Order application to mid-2016.
Following the fourth stage of public consultation in summer 2015, work has been ongoing to address all the issues raised. Particular attention is being focused on environmental studies and transport/travel studies.
David Testa, CEO at London Paramount said: “We have and will continue to carry out further environmental and transport studies to guarantee a robust Development Consent Order application, ensuring we get both the business and masterplan right while giving consideration to matters raised during the consultation process.”
Environmental studies will be reviewed by the statutory consultees including the local authorities, the Environment Agency and Natural England as part of an emerging Environmental Statement. This will highlight areas of mitigation, including an Environmental Management Plan dealing with the construction and operation of the Resort.
Traffic and transport have been key elements of the public consultation. London Paramount is proposing to build a new dedicated access from the A2 into the Entertainment Resort to separate resort traffic and reduce the impact on local roads. The new road would be in place before the opening of the resort. Further plans include using the river to transport construction materials to the site to reduce disruption on the local road network.
Testa: “In light of our ongoing studies and detailed discussions with the Planning Inspectorate and local authorities, we have decided to give ourselves a bit more time to do this and to revise our submission date for the Development Consent Order. It is critical that the application for London Paramount is comprehensive when we present it to the Planning Inspectorate and so we have decided to submit the application in mid-2016. This will see the Entertainment Resort open in 2021.”
The resort expects to generate up to 27, 000 jobs and is predicted to attract 15 million visitors annually once fully operational.
