Further plans for “the UK’s answer to Disneyland” have just been released and now it’s the turn of the public to have their say on them.
A consultation is now under way for the new theme park resort, with Paramount Pictures also on board.
The London Resort – which is set to take shape in Swanscombe, Kent and is just 17 minutes by train from London St Pancras station – has been in the works for the past eight years, with initial concept plans having been outlined back in 2012.
If these newly-released plans – dubbed ‘the evolved masterplan’ – are given the green light to go ahead, The London Resort would be the first park of its kind to be built from scratch in Europe since Disneyland Paris in 1992, and new Chief Executive PY Gerbeau said the industrial site would be “transformed into one of the most exciting destinations in the world”.
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The London Resort
According to the new plans, The London Resort will include four hotels, that boast a total of around 3,500 rooms, as well as dozens of rides, attractions, entertainment, eSports and conference venues, all across two theme parks.
After signing the deal with Paramount pictures too, it will it will even feature rides based on the studio’s films, as well as TV shows from the BBC and ITV.
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Speaking on the ‘evolved masterplan’, CEO PY Gerbeau continued: “The London Resort represents a unique opportunity to bring a thrilling and exciting global entertainment destination to the UK with a breadth of facilities”.
“It will generate multi-billion-pound investment, thousands of jobs, and will transform a largely brownfield site into one of the most exciting entertainment destinations in the world.”
“As well as maximising new, immersive and interactive technologies, our aim is also to be one of the most sustainable major theme parks in the world, pursuing an operational net zero emissions goal. Sustainability is at the core of our vision and we continue to explore new and innovative ways of integrating sustainable and low-carbon principles into every area of design and operation of the resort”.
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London Resort
It has been indicated that 9,000 direct and 20,000 indirect jobs would created for the resort within its first year, and they claim that figure would rise to 17,000 and eventually over 35,000 respectively after 15 years.
The types of available roles would range from high-tech engineers, to seasonal part-time workers.
The London Resort has also invited the public to have their say on the plans. The Statutory Consultation period will take place from 27th July – 11.59pm on 21st September, with webinars, online Q&A sessions, telephone surgeries and other activities planned throughout the seven week period.
“We have listened, analysed and considered all the feedback given to us through extensive consultations” continued Gerbeau.
“[The London Resort] is the first project of its kind to be designated a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project so while it’s incredibly important for local communities to continue contributing, it is also important for the nation to have its say.”
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If these new plans are successful in securing development consent, construction is projected to begin on The London Resort in early 2022, with a potential opening date in 2024.
You can find more about The London Resort and have your say here.
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Review | ‘This is a night to remember, Manchester’ – Jason Derulo’s Co-op Live debut
Amy Williams
Who’s ready for another throwback night? Because this was absolutely a night already full of nostalgia and one to remember.
American singer-songwriter Jason Derulo hit Co-op Live last night as part of his ‘The Last Dance World Tour’, famous for hit songs like ‘Whatcha Say’, ‘Talk Dirty’, and ‘Savage Love’ – we all remember the Covid TikTok dance, don’t we? – as well as many more.
With over 250 million singles sold and tens of billions of streams, you best believe his one night in Manchester was sold out.
Running through the big hits and everything in between, he and his dancers made it a proper party atmosphere on this fine Saturday evening.
He did his throwback songs and more; from the moment he said, “We’re throwing it back to the beginning, back to 2009″, we knew his first debut single, ‘Whatcha Say’, was about to grace our ears, and that it did.
He also brought back absolute classics like ‘Ridin’ Solo’ (I definitely lost my voice during this one) In My Head and It Girl.
The Last Dance run of shows has seen him visit places like Leeds, London, Glasgow and Birmingham, finishing his UK leg right here in Manchester, before he carries on to Europe, but we’re confident our date had the best crowd so far.
And just when you think this couldn’t get any better, he brought his little boy on stage to say hi to everyone, too – shattered everyone’s hearts.
He has that many hit songs, it wasn’t possible to get through them all, so his DJ halfway through did a mash-up of songs he’s also written and featured in, including ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by Black Eyed Peas, ‘Secret Love Song’ with Little Mix and ‘Replay’ by Iyaz.
We knew his voice was amazing – but can we have a moment for this man’s dance moves, keeping everyone on their feet at Co-op Live tonight, and his dancers made everyone want to start dance lessons tonight too, an absolutely incredible performance by all.
Jason Derulo told the audience, “This is a night to remember Manchester’, and that it absolutely was.
The story behind Sâlo: the rising Georgian-born Salford artist set be one of the region’s next stars
Danny Jones
We always love stories of people moving to Manchester to be more creatively engaged, but tales of entire families relocating here for a better life and art being born out of it is something truly special – and besides her obvious talent, that’s what has attracted us and plenty others to Sâlo.
This up-and-coming Salfordian artist may have been born around the border between Eastern Europe and Western Asia during a particular fraught time for her country, but she’s been raised and moulded like so many of us by this city’s rich music culture and wider artistic heritage.
She came to the UK with her family as a baby, with her parents fleeing poverty and lingering friction in Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s, and their journey as asylum seekers eventually brought them here to the North West.
It was clear from a young age that Sâlo (short for Salome) had a gift for the piano, but it was when her family moved to the Greater Manchester area that her own interest in genres and styles began to develop. Here’s a little snippet of her recent performance at the stunning Stoller Hall.
This short video was taken from her feature in a recent episode of Manchester: Unplugged, the web series by StreamGM that launched just last year and spotlights local songwriters.
Honing in on one of her newest releases, ‘Set Me Free’, which taps into that pure love for the keys.
While this clip shows a stripped-back version of the fully-fledged electronic studio version, with production playing a key role in defining her sound, she blends everything from classical music and jazz to neo-soul as well as drum and bass.
You hear the phrase ‘genre-bending’ thrown around a lot these days, but if this mid-20s star in the making isn’t the epitome of that term, then we don’t know who is.
Speaking more about her background in the short documentary film, which aired on YouTube this week, she talks about her first memory of visiting Forsyth Music Shop in Manchester city centre, and the inspiration behind the track in question.
You watch the Sâlo episode of Manchester: Unplugged in full here.
Detailed in the description of the newest edition of the online show, “Classically trained from the age of four, Sâlo’s journey runs through some of Manchester’s most important music spaces”, including time spent at the RNCM and Chetham’s School of Music and more.
As for the tune itself, not only do the lyrics revolve around a difficult patch in a personal relationship – this being one of the first times she felt like she’s fully opened up and not held back on letting people know what she’s speaking about – but it’s also the first track she’s produced and mixed entirely on her own.
Painstakingly mastered from a small studio at home, she almost “fell out of love” with the song altogether, but getting back to that simple joy of playing piano helped revive her passion for it.
With a stunning voice, natural musical talent when it comes to her instrument, and a great blend of different analogue and digital influences, Sâlo is definitely one to watch moving forward.
Emily Sergeant -
28th July 2020 
