Massive £25m superboat to ‘journey again to EU waters’ after being rejected by Londoners | UK | News | EUROtoday

Plans to construct an enormous £25 million tremendous celebration boat on the Thames have been scrapped, marking what organisers have stated is a “sad day” for London.

The Oceandiva, a floating occasions venue deliberate to carry as much as 1,000 individuals, will return to EU waters, its house owners have stated.

Entertainment agency Smart Group hoped the boat could be used for occasions like high-end weddings and conferences whereas travelling up and down the river.

But it met fierce native resistance, with politicians fearing the floating venue was unsuitable for its environment.

Smart Group has now cancelled its deliberate growth, and in a letter saying the information, its managing director has stated it’s a “sad day for the city”.

Chloe Jackson stated in a letter reported by MyLondon that “regulatory challenges” and “infrastructural inadequacies” had scuppered the agency’s plans.

She added that, whereas some individuals would possible have fun the information, the cancellation could be a “missed opportunity” for the town.

She wrote: “It is with deep regret that we will not be able to bring this long-awaited project to fruition.

“Whilst we acknowledge that this may feel like a victory for some local residents and riverside stakeholders, we are sure you can appreciate it is a sad day for the city and indeed Smart Group, as this carbon-neutral, cutting-edge vessel will no longer be redefining events on the River Thames.”

“It is quite simply a missed opportunity for the city.”

However, native politicians didn’t agree with Ms Jackson’s evaluation, amongst them Rachel Bentley, the Liberal Democrat councillor for North Bermondsey.

She informed MyLondon the information was a “enormous victory for Thames-side residents and companies”, and added the proposed venue was unsuitable for the areas where it was planned to operate.

The yacht was to be moored primarily at the Royal Docks in Newham and make stop-offs at six piers across the city in Greenwich, Southwark and Tower Hamlets while undertaking trips.

Ms Bentley said the large vessel would have been “utterly unsuitable” for the narrow stretches of river in which it planned to operate.

She added: “Residents of Shad Thames had been rightly involved about rowdy party-goers disembarking into their historic neighbourhoods all day and evening.”