Business owners fear they may have to shut as plans for a new £40 million scheme including a 8,000 seat stadium and 3,500 homes has been proposed in the area. The owners have also criticised apparent links between the new proposal and the nearby failed ‘Dartford Disneyland’, while representatives for the previous project’s owner have denied any connection between the projects.
The new project, called Northfleet Harbourside in north Kent, would see existing buildings on the site being demolished to deliver 3,500 homes, 40,000 square metres of shops and a new 18,000 square metre football stadium of up to 8,000 seats.
It was approved by Gravesham Borough Council in April 2024. However, it was called in to the planning inspectorate by Secretary of State Angela Rayner in February this year following criticisms from local bodies, including the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce. The scheme is currently awaiting a final decision while the inquiry is ongoing.
Sam Youseman, director of polymer adapter manufacturer CPP-LM in Northfleet Industrial Estate, Gravesend, said his business is based on the boundary of the proposed Northfleet Harbourside development, having started trading nearly 50 years ago. He said that many businesses are wary that they could be issued compulsory purchase orders if the scheme goes ahead.
He told MyLondon: “Forced relocation is extremely disruptive. Because of the nature of our business, we have a lot of installed infrastructure that is difficult to replicate and difficult to replace.
“It takes a lot of expense, investment and work to put a manufacturing facility together specific to what we do because it is quite a specialist one. Having long term stability, here we have the freehold of the building. So being able to invest in the site was part of our long-term strategy.”
He added: “In the event that we are unable to replace the building in a suitable radius to our current location, depending on the level of disruption it could mean the end of the business. Our staff are important to us, they’re trained and we have high staff attention here. So if we have to move too far and they can’t move with us, we’ll lose all our staff. If we can’t get a suitable power supply, we won’t be able to run our machinery.”
The proposal is based just over one kilometre away from the ill-fated London Resort project which was announced in 2012 and hoped to build on a 535-acre site on the Swanscombe Peninsula near Dartford. It would have included rollercoasters, water parks and live entertainment venues, promising to be at least three times bigger than any other theme park in the UK.
Peter Hogg, the London City executive and UK cities director at consultant Arcadis, previously told MyLondon in 2021 that he estimated the value of the project to be £3.5 billion.
The project was shelved after being granted extra protection as a Natural England Site of Special Scientific Interest in 2021 and debts of £100 million. Legal proceedings being brought forward by Paramount against London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) saw court documents stating LRCH as the company behind the project.
The documents, seen by MyLondon, state: “The Company [LRCH] was incorporated on 6 May 2011 to develop and operate a ‘Disneyland-style’ theme park in Kent, to be known as ‘the London Resort’. It is controlled by Mr Abdullah Al-Humaidi (‘Mr Al-Humaidi’), the majority shareholder in the Company’s ultimate parent, Kuwait European Holdings KSC (‘KEH Kuwait’).
“Mr Al-Humaidi was a registered director of the Company but ceased to be such when a bankruptcy order was made against him on 6 November 2023. Notwithstanding stepping down as a registered director, Mr Al-Humaidi has continued to play a very active role in the Company.”
The London Resort Project was shut down by a High Court judge in January this year after the judge deemed LRCH had failed to keep up with payment agreements to its creditors.
The former director of LRCH also previously told KentOnline he would not return to his homeland of Kuwait for ‘fear of being arrested and imprisoned’ due to legal challenges relating to investors in the Swanscombe Peninsula project. The Telegraph reported he was insolvent at a High Court hearing in November 2023.
Court documents from the Paramount case also said one of the two existing directors of LRCH at the time was Mr Abdullah Al-Humaidi’s brother, Dherar Al-Humaidi. KEH took over Ebbsfleet United in 2013, with its grounds at the Kuflink Stadium being based in Northfleet.
A statement from Ebbsfleet United made in December 2023 said Mr Al-Humaidi resigned from his role as director and chairman of the club, but that the family’s ownership of the club would not be altered. It added that two family members would be taking over as directors, one being Abdullah’s brother Dherar and the other, Abudullah Aaaf Al-Humaidi, acting as chairman of the club.
Crucially, planning documents said the new Northfleet Harbourside project would be centred around the new stadium for Ebbsfleet United, doubling the capacity of the club’s current Kuflink Stadium grounds.
Mark Donovan, director of Prestige and Performance Car Services, is based in Ebbsfleet Business Park, located within the site of the proposed Northfleet Harbourside development. He is also the head of the management company for the business park.
He told MyLondon: “We take pride in our estate, where we work. It’s not some run-down industrial estate that they’re trying to make it out to be. It’s nothing like that, this is a place where we work and we love being there.”
Mr Donovan has estimated that 150 people on his estate will lose their jobs if the Northfleet Harbourside project goes ahead, while claiming another 135 people in the surrounding area would also be at risk. He described the potential moving costs for his and similar businesses as ‘astronomical’, surpassing six figures.
He said: “The failed Disneyland project has had such an effect on people I know in a very local area to me. The fact that it took 12 years for it to completely fall apart and all the businesses that are over there have been in limbo for 12 years, not being able to invest in businesses, not being able to sell their business, not being able to move on and do anything but sit there waiting for something to happen. I can’t be doing that, it isn’t fair on myself for my own stress and my own sanity.”
The Northfleet Harbourside project has been put forward by applicant Northfleet Central 1 Limited, based at Kuflink Stadium, home of Ebbsfleet United. Incorporation documents show that Ebbsfleet United own five per cent of the applicant company.
The CEO of the club, Damian Irvine, is also listed as a director for Northfleet Central 1 Limited. The company is 93 per cent owned by Isle of Man-based company Real Estate Management Holdings Ltd, which has Dherar Al-Humaidi listed as a director according to a document listing the company’s register of directors published in April of this year. Abdullah Al-Humaidi was also listed as a director of the company from December 2020 to February 2024.
Development company Landmarque Property Group, also associated with the scheme and based at Kuflink Stadium, is listed as being primarily owned by Sierra Investments Ltd – the incorporation documents of which list Abdulla Al-Humaidi and his brother Dherar as initial shareholders, as well as the pair’s mother, Hessah Rashed.
Gary Whitehead’s business has been based in Ebbsfleet Industrial Estate for over 100 years, with him having renamed the service All Type Valves 25 years ago. He said the area has become ‘blighted’ by the project, with individuals being reluctant to invest into their businesses or enter into new leases on units.
Mr Whitehead said he and other businesses have tried to assess alternative sites in the area, with Gravesham Borough Council not confirming the provision of a replacement industrial site nearby feeling like a ‘kick in the teeth’.
The director said there are no suitable units available for either freehold or rental agreements for over four miles. He said that a similar unit to his own 12 miles away in Crayford was nearly triple the price of his current site.
He said: “We could go further afield, but the majority of our custom is around here. as soon as you can start going further afield, then you enter into somebody else’s territory of another firm doing the same thing. So then all of a sudden, you’re fighting against them.”
He added: “It would be devastating for our businesses to try and relocate. It just would be so disruptive. I don’t know if many of the smaller businesses could survive moving. We have built a livelihood here and it’s just not going to work elsewhere… It’s hitting hard on a lot of people, including myself. Mentally, it’s just so stressful.”
Ebbsfleet United FC say concerns ‘have been heard’
An Ebbsfleet United FC spokesperson told MyLondon: “Ebbsfleet United is deeply ingrained in the local community and proposed and engaged in a long period of open consultation prior to the Northfleet Harbourside plans being lodged with Gravesham Borough Council (GBC) for consideration. The response from the local community in that consultation process was overwhelmingly in support of the regeneration plans the planning application consisted of.
“The application was recommended for approval with GBC and it was approved with a recommendation for review by the planning inspectorate which we supported. That process as you know is currently underway and the planning application will be heard independently and judged on planning merit and the net benefit to the community.”
The club said all concerns raised by local businesses had been heard and tabled for consideration within the planning process and will be ultimately considered by the inspectorate, alongside a number of arguments which support the project on planning merit and need. It said the area currently is in desperate need of regeneration and the net gain on jobs for the local community for decades to come should the development go ahead is substantial, adding that Gravesham Borough reportedly has a large deficit in housing needs and the proposed housing-led regeneration of the land would considerably assist the council in supplying enough housing for future generations.
It said that 350 of the proposed homes will be affordable housing and that the new 840sqm Primary and community NHS healthcare facility in the scheme will substantially improve the healthcare access opportunities for the entire Northfleet Community.
It added: “Our CEO Damian Irvine is indeed a director of NC1 and NHHC and he has extensive experience in supporting sports clubs in transforming to sustainable financial models through periods of restructuring. He joined the boards of NC1 and NHHC in order to safeguard the interests of EUFC throughout the process of the project which is prudent and sound governance.”
Inspector makes site visit to help make final decision
A Gravesham Borough Council spokesperson told MyLondon: “The planning application for Northfleet Harbourside was considered by the Council’s Planning Committee on April 30, 2024. Having considered the proposal against the adopted Development Plan and material planning considerations, the Committee resolved to grant planning permission via delegated authority to the Head of Planning in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee subject to the resolution of a number of outstanding matters.
“The planning application has subsequently been ‘called-in’ by the Secretary of State for MHCLG for their own determination, with the Inquiry currently being held. The inspector appointed by the Secretary of State has heard submissions from a number of affected businesses and has also undertaken a site visit to inform their understanding of the site.”
The spokesperson said that the council continues to support the resolution of the authority’s planning committee. They added that the council supports what is considered by the authority to be a policy compliant proposal that will deliver regeneration to an area of the borough with a council ward ranking among the top 10 per cent most deprived in the entire country.
Law firm Kingsley Napley, speaking on behalf of Northfleet Central 1 Limited, told MyLondon: “Northfleet Harbourside was granted a resolution to grant planning consent in April 2024 after Gravesham Borough Council considered all matters thoroughly. The project was called in by the Secretary of State and is currently undergoing a public inquiry. There are a host of detailed commercial matters that always need to be resolved when delivering a 50-acre regeneration scheme. We are committed to dialogue with all interested parties and local businesses.”
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