The London 2012 chief who helped raise £2 billion towards the cost of the Games has been given the job of getting a “British Disneyland” project off the ground.
Chris Townsend, the commercial director at London 2012 organiser Locog, has been appointed to the same role to create a £2 billion theme park in Kent for Paramount Pictures to open by 2018. Mr Townsend this week begins talks with City investors to raise debt and equity funding for the project on an 872-acre site on the Swanscombe peninsula near Ebbsfleet.
He has been appointed by London Resort Company Holdings, a development vehicle which has signed a deal with
Hollywood-based Paramount for an exclusive licence in the UK. He told the Standard: “Post-Olympics it’s probably going to be the country’s biggest and most exciting regeneration project. The UK doesn’t have a destination on this scale and the closest to us is Eurodisney in Paris.
“There’s real support at a local level and a lot of interest from potential investors. I’m confident that this stands a very good chance of happening but it is a tough market. The UK needs big regeneration projects to kick-start the economy and this will be a substantial tourism destination not just for the UK but for Europeans.”
The theme park will feature Paramount brands such as Star Trek and there will be water parks, cinemas and live music venues. Mr Townsend said: “It will be taking the best of Paramount and bringing it to life.”
He said most funding would be in place next year, triggering a planning application. LRCH said the park would create 27,000 jobs. Transport links are key to its success with a 17-minute rail journey from Ebbsfleet to St Pancras, new Crossrail links and proximity to the M25.
Mr Townsend said the Olympic commercial programme was the “most successful of any Games” having raised £2.4 billion through sponsorship, broadcast, ticket and merchandise revenues. He has just returned from the Olympic debrief to 2016 host Rio and said it was “in good shape”.
