Merlin Entertainments Group have raised objections to the Planning Inspectorate about The London Resort’s application for a Development Consent Order.
The objection arises about the purpose and scope of a 4-month extension to the pre-examination stage that The London Resort requested. Merlin Entertainments Group argues that The London Resort has submitted, or plans to submit, additional documentation that falls outside the extension scope and should have been submitted earlier.
In April, The London Resort requested a 4-month extension so that it could address the designation of the planned development area as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). In their objection, Merlin Entertainments Group selects specific quotes from The London Resort's request for the extension, which was for the purpose to “further engage in order to deliver an effective and robust on-site and off-site mitigation strategy in acknowledgement of the SSSI Notification” and to make “revisions to the submissions prepared in support of the application”.
As part of its concern, Merlin Entertainments Group highlights the inclusion of a document named “Supporting Resort and Leisure Market Assessment”, which is intended to be submitted by The London Resort in early September. Merlin Entertainments Group argues that not all of the expected additions to the application received sufficient consultation prior to the application being submitted, and in turn that not all interested parties may have made representations during the consultation stage.
Believing the procedural issues to be sufficient enough to jeopardise the examination process, Merlin Entertainments Group has suggested that the Examining Authority consider advising The London Resort to withdraw their application, and to go through another consultation phase before re-submitting the application at a later date.
Merlin Entertainment Group’s interest in The London Resort’s planning application provides a stark change from CEO Nick Varney’s views in 2015 that he didn’t think the project would ever happen. Whilst Merlin Entertainments Group could be seen as a stakeholder capable of providing input to validate the proposed application from a UK leisure operator perspective, the planned development would also lead to significant competition in the UK’s theme park market, to which Merlin Entertainments Group currently hold a significant majority.
The London Resort are yet to publicly respond to the issues raised by Merlin Entertainments Group.