A MULTI-million pound Charles Dickens theme park has been proposed for Chatham Maritime. The indoor park, which has the working title of Dickensworld, would create hundreds of jobs and form the centrepiece of the prestigious Chatham Maritime development project.

If it is given the go-ahead, Dickensworld, with an estimated cost of up to £30 million, will be open by late 2003 and aims to attract more than 500,000 visitors a year. The theme park would recreate Dickensian London combined with scenes from the writer's novels. A river would run through the three-acre site which would carry visitors through the streets of nineteenth century London.

The capital's sights, sounds, smells and lighting will be recreated, even down to the famous "peasouper" smogs. Other attractions would include a Fagin's Valley of shops, restaurants and pubs; Miss Havisham's House from Great Expectations and a theatre with a bill of plays and other entertainments.

The park is the brainchild of a consortium of businesses led by a London-based company. All are already well-established in the world of entertainment. The consortium is currently in talks with the Government's South East Development Agency (SEEDA), the body responsible for the regeneration of Chatham Maritime.

Earlier this month, it was announced that plans for a multiplex cinema at Chatham Maritime would not now go ahead but another "exciting project" was in the pipeline.

Cllr Jane Chitty, Medway's economic development chairman, said: "I am very supportive of the idea. The company has said it wants to work with our existing Dickens Festival and attractions, which is good. It will undoubtedly attract people to the area and hopefully once people are here we can do the necessary work to make them stay for the whole day and appreciate all we have to offer."

If SEEDA approves the scheme, it will then need to win detailed planning permission from Medway Council. A SEEDA spokeswoman said that at this stage details of the discussions were still "confidential" and would not comment further.