To: Secretary of State

No fun for Nature - Save Swanscombe Marshes

Buglife is delighted to confirm that the London Resort project has officially been terminated. This decision follows a High Court ruling to liquidate London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) due to financial and contractual disputes, bringing an end to a decade of uncertainty and environmental concern. The High Court’s ruling not only signals the definitive end of the London Resort plan but also lifts the shadow of doubt that has loomed over local businesses and the community for years. It ensures that this critical natural space remains safeguarded for future generations. Furthermore, the Planning Inspectorate has held LRCH accountable for its "unreasonable behaviour" throughout the planning process, awarding legal costs to a number of organisations, including Buglife, National Highways, Kent Wildlife Trust and others. This recognition of wasted resources underscores the importance of due diligence and respect for environmental regulations in major development proposals.

A nationally-important wildlife site is under threat – we need your help to save Swanscombe Marshes!

It is vital that Swanscombe Marshes and the wildlife that calls this amazing site home are protected from the proposed London Resort theme park. We need your help to secure the future of this haven for wildlife.

Please sign our petition and help Save Swanscombe Marshes

Why is this important?

The Swanscombe Peninsula is home to a remarkable mix of habitat of high value to wildlife – these include grasslands, coastal habitats, brownfield features, scrub and intricate wetlands.

Known as Swanscombe Marshes, this urban wilderness is home to thousands of species, including over 200 invertebrate species which are rare or under threat. As well as abundant bees, butterflies and beetles, Swanscombe Marshes is one of just two places in the UK where you can find the Critically Endangered Distinguished jumping spider (Attulus distinguendus). It is home to Nightingales, Cuckoos, Marsh harriers and a thriving population of Common lizards, thanks to its array of rich habitats.

Swanscombe Marshes is not just important for wildlife. The site has been enjoyed by local people for years for walking, bird watching, angling and escaping the hustle and bustle of North Kent.

But all of this is now threatened by the proposed London Resort theme park. Hyped as the ‘UK’s Disneyland’, much of the unique habitat of Swanscombe Marshes would be destroyed and concreted. The wildlife riches of the site simply will not survive this development. At a time when the value of wildlife and open spaces is being appreciated more than ever and amid a biodiversity crisis, we urge the Secretary of State to reject this unnecessary and ill thought out application.

Please sign our petition to save this unique site, let’s save Swanscombe Marshes!

For more information please visit our website https://www.buglife.org.uk/campaigns/save-swanscombe-marshes/.

Photos l to r (c) Diamond Geezer, Peter Harvey

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

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Updates

2021-02-08 08:54:29 +0000

Conservationists put the case for Swanscombe to be made a S.S.S.I. https://www.buglife.org.uk/news/conservationists-united-in-call/

2021-01-29 16:40:11 +0000

Reacting to the announcement that the Government have accepted the application for the London Resort as a National Infrastructure Project Buglife’s planning lead Jamie Robins stated.

“The fight goes on. Swanscombe Marshes is a site of irreplaceable biodiversity value, to allow it to be lost would be crime against nature and we will continue to oppose development there. Considering a theme park to be a national infrastructure project is a bizarre interpretation of ‘national infrastructure’ and means the decision will be taken down a far less transparent route to the exclusion of the public intervention possible within the standard planning process.”

2021-01-29 10:22:03 +0000

The Secretary of State has accepted the London Resort application for Examination as a National Infrastructure Planning case and a time table will soon be released.

2020-10-21 19:44:17 +0100

10,000 signatures reached

2020-09-30 09:26:47 +0100

The developer's consultation has now closed and we expect their next move will be a submission to the Planning Inspectorate to review the application and decided whether or not to accept it for examination

2020-08-21 08:17:33 +0100

5,000 signatures reached

2020-08-12 20:46:16 +0100

1,000 signatures reached

2020-08-12 15:47:51 +0100

500 signatures reached

2020-08-11 20:17:19 +0100

100 signatures reached

2020-08-11 18:26:20 +0100

50 signatures reached

2020-08-11 16:26:30 +0100

25 signatures reached

2020-08-11 15:50:23 +0100

10 signatures reached

2020-08-10 13:51:18 +0100

Thank you for signing this petition full details can be found on this webpage https://www.buglife.org.uk/campaigns/save-swanscombe-marshes/