Merlin Entertainments Group has been granted planning permission to move its London Dungeon commercial property venue to the County Hall building on South Bank to make way for London Bridge station’s expansion plans.
The commercial property group is currently in talks with UK retail infrastructure owner Network Rail, which is at present drafting a long-term capital investment plan to revamp London Bridge station and the surrounding area, including Tooley Street – as part of the capital’s future Thameslink programme.
The London Dungeon hopes to open in January 2013 in the former Greater London Council headquarters which already houses the Sea Life London commercial property Aquarium and the ticket office for the London Eye which are also part of the Merlin Entertainments Group.
The Dungeon will take over the ground floor previously occupied by the Dali Universe (which closed in 2010) and empty space in the basement.
Currently at least 680,000 a year people visit the commercial property at its present site and regularly long queues form in Tooley Street and Duke Street Hill to the frustration of passengers trying to go in and leave the station.
Waterloo Community Development Group has raised concerns about the effect of the additional crowds on the busy section of the Thames Path between Westminster Bridge and the London Eye.
WCDG Director Michael Ball told the committee: “We have no concerns about the change of use of the building and the introduction of the London Dungeon to County Hall.”
He further added: “Its use as the home of the London Dungeon will firm up its identity as a home to cultural and visitor attractions. Our concern is about the impact on the Queen’s Walk of the management of visitors queuing to enter the attraction.
“The Queen’s Walk at this point is extraordinarily busy and it can be difficult for able-bodied adults to move through at the busiest times.
“This is primarily the result of the impact of the Eye which has 10,000 visitors a day and is the most successful paid-for visitor attraction in the country.”
Mr Ball argued that the Dungeon ought to provide extra space for queuing inside commercial property County Hall to relieve the pressure on the riverside walk where the attraction’s own projections show that more than 300 people could be queuing on the busiest days.
WCDG argues that, following the example set by the London Eye which provides several hundred thousand pounds a year towards the cost of handling and preserving the Queen’s Walk, the commercial property Dungeon should be subject to a similar revenue funding arrangement to help address the issues caused by the huge crowds which are unavoidably drawn to high-profile commercial property attractions.
Merlin’s David Sharpe explained that the planned design of the new South Bank Dungeon meant that queues would be less likely to form. He added: “The capacity inside the attraction is far more than we have at Tooley Street by about 200 people.”
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