Universal Great Britain

[Luke Hutchinson]

Nice to see the most senior locally elected politicians across the region all getting together to put their weight behind Universal's proposal. Demonstrates that a world class theme park will benefit the entire region and beyond, not just the Bedford Council area.

I've been in touch with Bedford Council officers and they are currently waiting for the planning application information from the government in order to prepare the Council's response to the Special Development Order process.

So a planning application has gone in?

 

[rob@rar]

So a planning application has gone in?

Perhaps. This is such a big project I'd guess there's regular discussion between Universal and the government departments, so rather than a single event where Universal submit a bunch of papers as you would in a normal planning application, it's more likely to be an ongoing process which has continued in the background for a number of months. As the letter from the Council leaders stated "the business case [is] currently being finalised" by the DCMS. I've no doubt that things are continuing to move forwards.

 

[Luke Hutchinson]

Perhaps. This is such a big project I'd guess there's regular discussion between Universal and the government departments, so rather than a single event where Universal submit a bunch of papers as you would in a normal planning application, it's more likely to be an ongoing process which has continued in the background for a number of months. As the letter from the Council leaders stated "the business case [is] currently being finalised" by the DCMS. I've no doubt that things are continuing to move forwards.

I think I’m equally as interested to see the planning documents for what they might reveal but also just interested in the bureaucracy of it all

 

[rob@rar]

I think I’m equally as interested to see the planning documents for what they might reveal but also just interested in the bureaucracy of it all

Me too, although I don't think we are going to get a huge amount of detail as this is not a normal planning application. In a normal planning application that is submitted to a local council you have to fill out standard forms and submit building drawings which meet the council's usual requirements for them to assess the application. But we know that the planning process for Universal will be completely different, via a Special Development Order for which there doesn't seem to be any precedent. So I'm not expecting to see details of specific buildings or a plan of the site, not at this stage of the process at least.

 

[Luke Hutchinson]

 

[ProjectUniversal]

A lot has happened to take in today!

Project Universal UK

Project Universal UK. 482 likes · 264 talking about this. Follow the construction of Universal Studios Great Britain right here on Facebook.

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[rob@rar]

That notice about forthcoming decisions has been on Bedford Council's timetable for several weeks, I first noted it on the forum back in June, with an update earlier this month. However, I think it was overtaken to a certain extent by the general election when there was probably a pause in some of the work around Universal's proposal by the two government departments who have responsibility for progressing the matter. As of a couple of days ago, Bedford Council had not yet received information from the government on which to base their response, so maybe the deadline of the end of July is no longer relevant.

 

[Altonsky]

The civil service may have already done their work. Their just waiting for the sign off from Labour.

Hopefully they’ll hurry up but we all know it’ll be a 100% yes.

 

[Luke Hutchinson]

That notice about forthcoming decisions has been on Bedford Council's timetable for several weeks, I first noted it on the forum back in June, with an update earlier this month. However, I think it was overtaken to a certain extent by the general election when there was probably a pause in some of the work around Universal's proposal by the two government departments who have responsibility for progressing the matter. As of a couple of days ago, Bedford Council had not yet received information from the government on which to base their response, so maybe the deadline of the end of July is no longer relevant.

That would align with what Bedford Council told me regarding a planning application

 

[Ludus]

Just waiting for the official announcement, hopefully any day now...

 

[ProjectUniversal]

That would align with what Bedford Council told me regarding a planning applicationView attachment 22575

I check the planning most days. Nothing there as off yet. I think the SDO needs to go through then we might see at least change of use applications.

 

[rob@rar]

I don't think that the Universal proposal will appear on Bedford's planning portal as they will not have responsibility for deciding on the planning application, therefore Universal won't be submitting an application to the council. As an interested party, Bedford will respond to any public / statutory consultation that the government holds when it is deciding on whether to approve the Special Development Order and table the secondary legislation in parliament to enact it. It's not yet clear what form a public or statutory consultation will take place, but this is what the then Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said before the election about Universal's planning application:

 

[ProjectUniversal]

The council had a meeting last night and an update on both the theme park and the train station was spoke about.

Project Universal UK

Hi @followers Last night there was a meeting at the council and they had a short update about Universal Studios Great Britain although the speaker (Mr Jon Shortland) at the meeting has signed a non...

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[rob@rar]

The council had a meeting last night and an update on both the theme park and the train station was spoke about.

Nice to have confirmation of what we've been discussing here for several weeks. Key point for me is that Jon Shortland, Bedford Council chief officer for transport and infrastructure planning, thinks that the two sides (government and Universal) are close to an agreement. Seems like it's all in the hands of the new Ministers in the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. I find it hard to believe they are going to say "no", but let's hope that both sides are making demands the other side thinks is reasonable, and they can reach an agreed position soon to allow the planning process to continue to the next steps.

Although it was nice to see all the local councils in the region write to the Prime Minister endorsing Universal's proposals, I did wonder if this was a sign of things not quite going to plan and they had decided that a public show of unity around the proposal was necessary.

 

[Excalibur]

Forgive me, but what was the original time frame set by Universal that they were going to announce or not if they’re going ahead?

 

[rob@rar]

Forgive me, but what was the original time frame set by Universal that they were going to announce or not if they’re going ahead?

They have never given a timetable for announcing whether they would proceed with their proposals. One of the local parish councils reported that they had been told by Universal that a decision on whether to proceed or not might be made in June 2024, but there's never been a commitment to announcing their intentions by a specific date.

There are lots of little indications that negotiations are ongoing between national government and Universal, with Bedford taking part as a key partner.

 

[Excalibur]

I honestly feel like this is going to blow the UK parks out of the water once it opens (fingers crossed and is looking likely)

When I used to live and work in Florida before stupid COVID sent me packing it made me appreciate the US parks even more. Purely that the offered the full package. Yes, some projects may get “cut” but compared to the UK parks there’s a big difference.

Before I decided many years ago to up and move and work in Florida I actually helped commission The Smiler and to my knowledge this is still the UKs longest coaster? From an outsiders view this is what the UK public know as theme parks, as in track length? Especially if they cannot afford to go to somewhere like Florida to actually see the difference. When working at Alton we used to get it all the time people comparing it to Disney & Universal.

I think it’s really going to shake things up once they open, yes it may be a little more expensive but UK parks are pushing the £60-70 barrier. Yes, that’s if you don’t use any coupons and I’m sure universal won’t, but I can guarantee if Joe Public even visit Universal in the UK once and then visit Towers’ or any other theme park they will be comparing EVERYTHING. Which then boils down too, expensive day out at universal potentially converting into a AP or a cheaper option, with less rides, less coaster length, less theming, less food quality and so on.

I think Universal are going to send shockwaves through the UK market and good! It’s about time the UK parks had a wake up call!

 

[extrobeiuf]

There's room for both - a top-tier park (Universal), and thrill/amusement-parks (Alton, Thorpe). But agree that a lot of current parks will need to up their game a little to maintain a standard and continue attracting guests ... they've had too little competition for too long, so this should be a net good for the UK park industry.

 

[Ludus]

There's room for both - a top-tier park (Universal), and thrill/amusement-parks (Alton, Thorpe). But agree that a lot of current parks will need to up their game a little to maintain a standard and continue attracting guests ... they've had too little competition for too long, so this should be a net good for the UK park industry.

There's room for both but the price has to reflect the experience... Paying almost Universal and Disney prices for Poundland theming with ride reliability of a chocolate teapot and then the cheek of charging £20 for burger and fries is no longer going to cut it and Merlin are in for more than a wakeup call.

 

[Jake S]

The most expensive ticket to Alton Towers this month is £50 ($65). The cheapest ticket you can buy for one day at Universal Studios Florida is $120 (£93). I have no idea what a one day ticket will go for at UGB, but Merlin is decidedly not charging near Disney/Universal prices.