We are very pleased to share the news that The London Resort Project has been accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate. This marks a significant milestone not only for this unique project, but for consultation and engagement more generally.
The London Resort – a world-class, sustainable, next generation entertainment resort proposed for development on the banks of the River Thames – was the first ‘Business or Commercial Project’ to be accepted as an NSIP. It is now also the first ‘digital-first’ statutory consultation to have been accepted for examination by PINS.
Copper worked with the London Resort team to plan and deliver their ‘digital-first’ statutory consultation. With 50 hours of public and stakeholder webinars, almost 30,000 visitors to the website and 40,000 visits to a new virtual exhibition space, this consultation demonstrated that digital provides a highly effective way for projects to engage with a range of audiences in a meaningful way.
The Resort’s Chief Executive, PY Gerbeau said: “It’s taken an enormous effort from everyone involved to get to where we are today. We have always said our ambition is to build much more than just a theme park. It will be a beacon of world class entertainment and experiences within a world-leading sustainable environment.
“I want to thank the home team, our investor, our partners and people who supported us for their dedication and incredible commitment.
“We still have a long way to go and we are very much looking forward to working with the Planning Inspectorate over the coming months. But, from where we were, less than 18 months ago, this is a game changer.”
Andrew Weaver, Director of Infrastructure at Copper, said: “The London Resort has been a really exciting project for us to work on, bringing a major attraction and entertainment-led regeneration scheme to the UK and taking forward the first DCO of its kind.
“We worked to deliver a digital first consultation that ensured it could still take place despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Our approach widened participation and is a powerful example of the use of digital communications in major projects. This also continues Copper’s track record of success, with every NSIP that we’ve worked on that has been submitted to PINS being been accepted for examination.”
