Taxpayer Loses £5m on Failed 'Dartford Disneyland'
The taxpayer lost £5m on a doomed attempt to create a £3.5bn Disneyland rival on the Thames Estuary, it has emerged. The theme park, backed by Paramount and Kuwaiti tycoon Abdulla Al-Humaidi, was intended to be more than double the size of Alton Towers but faced opposition from conservation campaigners and was ultimately wound up due to unpaid debts. The London Resort's failure highlights concerns about the design of the Future Fund, a £1.1bn vehicle championed by Rishi Sunak that invested in over 1,000 companies during the pandemic.
- The scale of the loss on this project underscores the risks involved in government-backed investments and the need for more stringent oversight to protect taxpayer interests.
- How will this experience inform future investment decisions, particularly when considering ambitious and high-risk projects that may not yield returns?