The future of a company aiming to deliver a multi-billion pound theme park in Kent hangs in the balance after being taken to court by a major Hollywood studio.

London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) hoped to build the controversial attraction, dubbed the “Dartford Disneyland”, on the 372-acre Swanscombe Peninsula, near Dartford.

First announced in 2012, it was set to feature a mix of rollercoaster rides, water parks, hotels and live entertainment centres, and boasted it would have been at least three times bigger than any other UK theme park.

But after various planning snags and racking up debts of £100million it faces a battle to survive having been locked in a legal dispute in the courts with American streaming giants and former collaborators, Paramount.

Last week an insolvency judge in the High Court found there were atleast three “serious and irremediable” breaches by LRCH of its agreement to pay creditors.

This included Paramount, which had originally lent its own name and intellectual property (IP) rights, such as the ability to use the name of movies such as Star Trek and Mission: Impossible to attractions, before reneging.

The American firm told the court in October LRCH had not adhered to their obligations under a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) — a way for financially impacted companies to pay off their debts over a fixed period of time and address issues without folding — agreed in April last year.

LRCH had proposed a CVA based on a debt equity swap. The debts owed to unsecured creditors would be cancelled and replaced by shares in the company, according to details of the judgment published last week.

The arrangement was approved, despite the opposition of Paramount and other creditors who believe the prospect of any financial return is highly remote.

Paramount told the court LRCH had breached fundamental terms of the CVA by, in its view, ceasing trading and disposing of key parcels of land needed for the project without informing creditors.

It pointed to the fact in March Steven Norris, the company’s long-term chairman and director, resigned and has not been replaced. This followed the resignation of Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, the ex-CEO, who had also resigned in December 2022 and had not been replaced.

Funds of approximately £607million required to move the project forward, which LRCH promised in the CVA proposal, had also not been forthcoming and all its websites had been shut down.

The streaming giant argued the CVA needed to be terminated with haste to prevent the company disposing of more assets to put them “out of reach” of creditors.

The high court heard the project was largely bankrolled by Dr Abdulla Al-Humaidi, a Kuwaiti Tycoon and former chairman of Ebbsfleet United football club embroiled in financial difficulties and disputed fraud allegations, who served as director until his bankruptcy last year.

Insolvency Judge Sally Barber said, as she provided reasons for her findings from October, it was “regrettable” that, in the face of these breaches by London Resort, the supervising solicitor, Mr William Batty, had not terminated the CVA despite reasoned requests that he do so.

Crucially, Judge Barber found the transfer of a plot of land in May was a material change to London Resort's business, which the CVA supervisor had no prior notice of.

“The freehold land, being an integral part of the site on which the theme park is to be built, was not only presented in the proposal as the company’s only asset but was obviously central to its business and therefore to the CVA,” the judgment notes.

“Without the site, there was no land on which the theme park could be built.”

The court ruled there had been an “irremediable breach” of the terms of the CVA and directed Mr Batty to issue a certificate of termination.

Atleast two further hearings will now take place in the New Year to decided the firm’s fate.

Despite this, LRCH hopes to place itself in administration before then, with another court hearing on January 17 to determine whether or not this can be achieved.

Bosses at the company believe this measure would offer the best chance to deliver the project in the future and are committed to fighting their corner every step of the way.

The fate of the project now hangs in the balance as it’s understood if the company is made insolvent the government could finally pull the plug on its controversial NSIP status.

It was given such status as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) by the government in 2012, which had the potential to speed up the planning process.

NSIP status, as the name implies, is given to major projects such as airports, power stations and major roads.

The system was designed to speed up the process for such projects by taking the decision-making process out of the hands of local authorities and into the relevant minister of state.

Once listed on the Planning Inspectorate’s website as an NSIP, the process then moves towards the ultimate goal – securing a Development Consent Order, signed off by the government, which gives the go-ahead for the project to actually be built.

LRCH got halfway through the lengthy process before sensationally withdrawing its application in March 2022.

It blamed Natural England’s decision in 2021 to give much of the area Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status. While it doesn’t block development, it does require concessions to be made.

Natural England made the move due to the area’s grassland, wetlands, birds, and invertebrate species – including one of the rarest kinds of spiders in the country.

In addition, a deal it had with Tilbury in Essex to allow visitors to park on that side of the Thames Estuary and be ferried to the park, fell apart after the port acquired Freeport status.

The company which owned the freehold on the 372-acre former cement works site, along with 39 acres of the Manor Way Business Park - Swanscombe Development LLP - was put up for sale in July.

Despite the setback, LRCH bosses stated the dream was not dead and revealed investors acting on behalf of it had expressed an interest in taking over the land.

And in October, the key figure behind the “Dartford Disneyland” told KentOnline the long-running saga has “destroyed my life”.

Dr Abdulla Al-Humaidi said it had “ruined my reputation and left me bankrupt” and slammed the nation’s planning system as “broken”.

LRCH itself had previously had an option to buy the site from Swanscombe Development - a 50/50 joint venture between Aggregate Industries and Anglo American International Holdings.

But that option expired in 2022 and has not been renewed since.

The option to buy the freehold of the land had cost LRCH some £4million over the years - all of which was non-refundable.

It was estimated the land was worth well in excess of £100 million during the duration of the option period.

However, that price is expected to have dropped significantly following the designation of much of the peninsula as an SSSI.

The hearing for the CVA challenge has been listed for April with the next court date for the firm’s administration hearing scheduled for next month.

LRCH declined to comment due to ongoing court proceedings.

Paramount has been approached for comment.