Gravesham District Council criticised over US theme parks trip

A Kent council has been criticised over its plans to send nine of its bosses on a £15,000 trip to US theme parks, including Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida.

The team from Gravesham District Council has said it will help them prepare for a £2bn Paramount theme park in Swanscombe and see "the issues for local communities surrounding the establishment of a world-class leisure project".

The authority has said it hopes to claim the cost of the trip back from the developers.

Council leader John Burden said it was not a "jolly", but Dia Chakravarty, from the Taxpayers' Alliance, asked whether a smaller team could have gone to Disneyland in Paris.

Planning consultant Nick Laister, who advises on theme parks, said the only other examples of such a major development were in the US.