£3.5billion theme park set for Britain
Britain is set to get a £3.5 billion mega park that has been described as the UK’s rival to Disneyland. London Paramount will be built near Dartford in Kent and will cover 872 acres of land.
The impressive theme park will be home to more than 50 rides, a 2,000 seat theatre and even its own nightclub. If there are no delays London Paramount is set to be open by 2022.
Initially London Paramount was met with opposition from companies within the industrial estate that will need to be cleared to house the tourist attraction. However, following meetings with local residents last year, construction is on track to begin in 2018.
Fenlon Dunphy, chief financial officer of the company, said to the Western Daily Express: ‘This is going to have a hugely significant impact on the economy – we will dovetail into a lot of the other attractions in the area. It will be a game changer for much of Kent.’
UK Government and local councils fully support the plans, with the former making it the first commercial venture in the UK to be awarded Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP status) “Truly successful theme parks generate a lot of tax revenue, jobs and growth for cities around the world”, says Josh Young, owner of the website Theme Park University. “Many times, governments will kick in extra revenue to provide the infrastructure (or part of it) needed to get the park open because they feel they will get it back in taxes once the park opens.”
It is believed that the resort will create around 27,000 jobs in the area and boost tourism to other attractions on the outskirts of London. During peak construction of the park construction jobs will hit 6,300.
This is an exciting project for the construction industry and for the UK and looks like it is set to boost the economy.