With the final confirmation that the dream of a multi-billion pound entertainment park in north Kent is officially over, we’ve been looking at other grand schemes for the county that never came to be.
They have included a road bridge across the English Channel linking Dover and Calais, a 200ft carving of Winston Churchill’s face in White Cliffs – and a giant heron statue looming over Herne Bay seafront.
The doomed London Resort entertainment resort which was set to be build on the Swanscombe Peninsula. Picture: London Resort Company Holdings
Aside from the doomed London Resort, here are 10 moreambitious proposals for Kent that never made it past the drawing board…
1. The £39 billion airport in the sea
Ambitious architects certainly made waves with their proposals for a four-runway airport on the Goodwin Sands, off the coast of Deal.
An artist’s impression of the proposed airport on the Goodwin Sands. Picture: Thaddée Segard
The £39 billion offshore hub was put forward by Beckett Rankine back in 2012.
But the plans for an airport on the 10-mile sandbank – where 2,000 ships are believed to have been wrecked – were dismissed as “a publicity stunt” and “completely bonkers”.
In 2020, the Goodwin Airport’s X account continued to promote the idea.
Responding to a post backing Boris Johnson’s plans for an airport hub in the Thames Estuary, they said: “Better still build the airport on the Goodwin Sands!”
But no further progress has been made.
2. ‘Boris Island’
Sticking with those aforementioned plans from Boris Johnson, the former London Mayor wanted to see a four-runway airport built on the Hoo Peninsula.
Opponents of a Thames Estuary airport protesting outside City Hall in London. Picture: Tristan Osborne
The then-MP for Gillingham and Rainham, Rehman Chishti, had described it as a “totally impractical, costly and bizarre” proposal that “would destroy important environmental sites”.
The scheme was eventually grounded by the Airports Commission, which rejected it in 2016, saying it was not “the right answer” to meet the UK’s aviation needs.
When running to be Prime Minister, Mr Johnson pledged not to try to revive the plans.
3. Boris’s bridge across the Channel
This is the last mention of Boris, we promise. In 2018 he floated the idea of of building a bridge across the English Channel to link the UK with France.
Boris Johnson in Dover
He raised the prospect during a meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron, later tweeting: “Our economic success depends on good infrastructure and good connections. Should the Channel Tunnel be just a first step?”
However, experts poured cold water on the then-Foreign Secretary’s plans, questioning the viability of a 22-mile bridge over what is the busiest shipping channel in the world.
One told The Times it would cost at least £120 billion, adding: “It would really be cheaper to move France closer.”
4. Kent’s answer to Mount Rushmore
After Winston Churchill led Britain to victory in the Second World War, people were keen to honour the Prime Minister.
How the carving of Churchill on the White Cliffs might have looked, maybe
According to Andrew Roberts’ biography of the legendary leader, many monuments were proposed.
Mr Roberts writes: “£50,000 was even raised for a 200ft carving of his face in the White Cliffs of Dover, complete with a large cigar with a permanently lit end in red, for the safety of shipping.”
Imagine what a sight that would have been on the ferry back from France.
But sadly Kent’s answer to Mount Rushmore never became a reality.
5. Seagulls scupper giant Roman statue
Nowhere in Kent seems to inspire more grand ideas than Dover.
Artist’s impression of the Roman soldier statue planned for Dover. Picture: Kent Archaelogical Rescue Unit
In 2016, a proposal was put forward for a 65ft statue of a Roman centurion on the town’s seafront.
But the bid for the £2 million “Colossus of Dover”, inspired by the Colossus of Rhodes, was scuppered by seagulls.
The Kent Archaeological review, chaired by Dr Brian Philp, said: “The project won popular support but, as so often in Dover, there was predictable opposition.
“The main objections were that seagulls would sit on it, the paint would wear off, and that military matters should not be commemorated.”
6. Ambitious flight of fancy
In 2017, plans for another seafront sculpture were put forward – this time in Herne Bay.
The design for the heron sculpture on Neptune’s Arm in Herne Bay. Picture: Jason Hollingsworth
Art enthusiasts revealed their idea for a giant aluminium heron at the end of Neptune’s Arm.
The 30ft mobile sculpture would have been powered by the tide, with £100,000 needed to be found to pay for it.
Accountant Jason Hollingsworth, who dreamt up the project with artist Philip Long, said: “For many years the heron has been an emblem of the town and it is very important.
“It has inspired us with a vision to create a giant moving sculpture as an emblem for Herne Bay, offering a sculpture of both beauty and function.”
But eight years on, the scheme has yet to take flight.
7. Offshore hotel bid hits the rocks
Striking plans to convert the Red Sands sea forts into a billionaires’ playground were first mooted in 2015.
The Maunsell Second World War sea forts off Whitstable. Picture: RNLI
David Cooper had hoped to convert the rusting Second World War defences off the coast of Whitstable and Herne Bay into a £1,000-per-night luxury hotel equipped with a helipad.
But the scheme hit a stumbling block after a £100 million deal with Middle Eastern investors fell through.
Instantly recognisable, the forts, which were built in 1943 and designed by Guy Maunsell, feature prominently on the horizon off the Kent coast.
Decommissioned in the 1950s, they are not technically owned by anyone – but they are on the Crown Estate’s land.
How the Maunsell Forts could have looked as a luxury hotel with a helipad, according to Aros Architects
Another short-lived scheme for the forts was put forward in 2016, to transform them into a huge spray-painted mural.
8. From Tinsel Town to Medway Towns
When you think of glitz and glamour, Borstal in Rochester might not be the first location that pops into your head.
The Big E which was erected in a field over-looking Borstal. Picture: Terry Whitby
Back in 2009, council chiefs sought to rectify this by building their very own Hollywood-style sign in the village – in a bid to put Medway on the map.
A huge letter E was erected to gauge public opinion – and it’s fair to say it proved a flop with residents.
Terry Whitby was infuriated when he saw the giant vowel going up just yards away from his front door in Victoria Terrace.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he said. “We don’t really want to wake up in the morning looking at this.”
How the MEDWAY sign might have looked
It was taken down four days later, at an overall cost of £2,000 to the taxpayer.
At the time, a Medway Council spokesman said: “While people are familiar with the five towns, very few outside the south east know where Medway is.
“One of the challenges facing the council is to attract inward investment to Medway.”
9. The floating lap dancing club
“Has this town no decency left at all?”
The Yacht Club was proposed to be based near the riverside Travelodge in Maistone
That was the reaction of Invicta Rowing Club vice-president John Clayton when plans for a floating lapdancing club in Maidstone were revealed in 2010.
The Yacht Club was set to be a private members’ club also offering strip shows and an outdoor hot tub.
It was to be based on a “James Bond-style” 50ft catamaran and a yacht joined together
Karen Elston, who hoped to run the club with husband Dave, said: “This is isn’t your average pound in a jug establishment – we will be employing elegant young ladies not crude girls.”
But after a flood of protests, plans for the X-rated river venue were put on hold – and have never since resurfaced.
10. The Angel of the South
No list of big and bold ideas for Kent would be complete without the plans for a humongous white horse in the Ebbsfleet Valley.
How the so-called Angel of the South in the Ebbsfleet Valley might have looked
The 50-metre beast – dubbed the Angel of the South – was dreamt up by artist Mark Wallinger.
In 2009, Ebbsfleet Landmark Project organisers picked his design as the sculpture to symbolise the valley and dominate residents’ skylines.
Wallinger, a Turner Prize winner, said his creation, 33-times the size of a thoroughbred horse and the same height as Nelson’s column, is synonymous with Kent.
Gravesham Council gave the scheme planning permission in 2010. But costs increased to about £15 million and the project has never got out of the traps.