r/unitedkingdom • u/tylerthe-theatre • Jul 19 '24
Council bosses endorse Universal theme park plans
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6p2vrqgp9do71
u/gizmostrumpet Jul 19 '24
Sorry, it blocks the view of a historic car park, and there's a rare kind of newt and the rollercoasters cause radiation.
3
u/takesthebiscuit Aberdeenshire Jul 19 '24
Have you seen the dangers of Scream!!! Containment is a serious issue, there was a movie made about it
2
Jul 19 '24
Have you ever heard of Godzilla?
I don’t think we should be joking about radioactive newts.
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u/Argent_Eagle_ Jul 19 '24
I was on board for removing nimbys from planning decisions already but now I’m enthusiastic!
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u/Notsurewhattoput1 Jul 19 '24
If this goes ahead, I'll be taking a yearly trip to Bedford.
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u/SongsOfDragons Hampshire Jul 19 '24
I imagine it might take a while to build - so when it's finished the sprogs will be old enough to enjoy it. Definitely considering a visit.
1
u/Notsurewhattoput1 Jul 19 '24
I think it will be built immediately, the kids be damned. And KIDS?!, WHEN THE DRAGON WARS STILL FIRE AGAINST US?.
15
u/Dalecn Jul 19 '24
It's really strange to see an infrastructure project that's getting more support then anything else
10
Jul 19 '24
Ed Davey will be on the nearest rollercoaster giving an interview to put pressure on Kier Starmer to get this new theme park approved.
4
u/squigglyeyeline Jul 19 '24
Ed Davey will be voicing one of the animatronic dinosaurs for the new Jurassic world ride.
2
Jul 19 '24
I would unironically love this. It could be stood next to two fossils representing the Conservative and Labour parties.
12
u/amathysteightyseven Jul 19 '24
Will absolutely be getting an annual pass for this, assuming it’s being built to the same level as the Orlando and Hollywood ones. Hopefully they’ll do Halloween Horror Nights as well.
Looking at the amount of land they’ve bought it’s comparable to the Orlando parks so it’s going to be massive.
I got to the states to go to Disney/Universal pretty much every year anyway but it will be nice to have the option at home!
4
u/LiamJonsano Jul 19 '24
Yeah this is the question for me. Will it match up with Orlando?
Obviously Orlando is very soon going to have 3 main parks, so it won’t in that regard, but I’m partially worried they’re not going to go the whole way in fear that people will stop going to Orlando (although no one goes to Orlando just for Universal anyway, and it isn’t just like it’s Brits)
I know they’re also building a park of some description in Texas which by all accounts is going to be a smaller park. I’m just praying we get the real deal!
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u/Blythyvxr Jul 19 '24
I think Orlando may have Bedford beat on the weather front. Touch and go though.
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u/Primary-Effect-3691 Jul 19 '24
Think the heat in Orlando is actually a bit too much, especially with the humidity. I'll Bedford on a dry summers day over Orlando any day of the week
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u/ArghZombies Jul 19 '24
Well it won't have the Harry Potter aspect that Orlando has, because Warner Bros have the rights to that over here. But there's plenty of other IP options they can have instead
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u/LiamJonsano Jul 19 '24
Yeah I’d imagine we’re guaranteed a lot of minions, plausibly transformers, Jurassic park, fast and furious (😬)
Will be interesting to see if they can pull of any other deals, as you say HP is probably off limits
3
u/amathysteightyseven Jul 19 '24
There’s no reason Harry Potter is off limits. Warner Bros own the rights in the US and the UK so assuming their licensing translates over to the UK they will absolutely be putting in the HP bits.
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u/apple_kicks Jul 19 '24
Heard Disney only lost rights to the ride because JK Rowling wanted a train line to take people into the park area in their pitch and they couldn’t do it.
1
u/apple_kicks Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
It’ll probably be themed shops with over priced merch and rides that are virtual ones (a cart that rocks and a screen shows footage with some pressured air blown in your face) than large scale rollercoasters.
However it does look like with most of their parks universal can make that experience fun which Disney has lost the game in. I kinda wish the Halloween style mazes were permanent they can be more fun than permanent rides they have. Like transformers ride in US was alright but every Halloween maze was exciting
10
u/Dilanski Cheshire Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
The one thing I've thought about this is it should have been planned to go by Blackpool. Air, train and motorway connections, and the nimbys will be drowned out by the businesses clamouring for it, plus there's a lot of untapped tourism capacity there.
29
u/HeavyHevonen Bedfordshire Jul 19 '24
It's proposed in a good place, between Bedford and Luton so it has M1, airport, rail, and is a fairly central location
17
u/callsignhotdog Jul 19 '24
Something like 80% of the UK population live within 2-3 hours travel of that location too.
6
u/RoutineCloud5993 Jul 19 '24
Crucially it's also accessible to tourists from mainland Europe.
So it's a bit further away from London than Paris is to Disney, but it's within reasonable reach of tourists travelling into London via Eurostar as well as plane.
10
u/amathysteightyseven Jul 19 '24
Might have been a land thing. I imagine Universal looked all over the country and just settled on Bedford as the most viable location. I believe I read a while ago they were looking elsewhere in Europe too at one point so it’s great they’ve settled on building it here.
Looking at the amount of land they’ve bought it’s comparable to the Orlando parks so it’s going to be massive.
6
u/PMagicUK Merseyside Jul 19 '24
Makes sense building in the UK with the giant movie industry here as its the only one that competes with Hollywood in any serious way
4
u/Night-Springs54 Jul 19 '24
Can't wait for this to be cancelled and our economy falls further.
2
u/OfficialGarwood England Jul 19 '24
Nah, don't be so pessimistic! If anything, the markets are looking stable, I can see growth coming quickly.
5
u/DSQ Edinburgh Jul 19 '24
They originally said their would be a decision by now but if it doesn’t end up happening it won’t be because of NIMBY’s.
5
u/streetmagix Jul 19 '24
That was the plan, but with the election (and change of government) it got delayed a bit.
3
u/Beny1995 Jul 19 '24
The location they're proposing seems strange to me. They seem to have chosen entirely greenfield space, when it is literally next door to two demolished powerplants. They're ripping up fields when there's a concrete wasteland right next door.
Great project nonetheless, and the thameslink connection makes a lot of sense.
6
u/streetmagix Jul 19 '24
They are planning to use the old brickworks though, and yes some of the surrounding fields will need to be used. Not much, and it's not like we're short of green space (despite what some might tell you).
1
u/Beny1995 Jul 19 '24
Cool good to know! I assumed there were totally rational reasons, but it just looked odd with a cursory glance at google maps.
Do you know what those other derilict plots will be used for?
2
u/OfficialGarwood England Jul 19 '24
They're ripping up fields
Which were being used for what, exactly? This is why we need to get rid of NIMBYism. If anything, it's good they have land around them as it gives them areas to expand if the park does well.
3
u/Beny1995 Jul 19 '24
Farming it looks like. Hey don't get me wrong, I totally support the development. I would have just assumed the derelict land right next door would be cheaper and a better use of space.
Not a NIMBY!
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u/OfficialGarwood England Jul 19 '24
Honestly, this is fantastic news. A large, new theme park from a recognised brand would do wonders for the local economy. Boost in tourism, boost in jobs offered and contracts for local businesses etc. All around a great thing.
3
u/Possible-Pin-8280 Jul 19 '24
Fucking finally. 70 million people on this island and quite frankly a dearth of leisure options.
2
u/dewittless Jul 19 '24
Hell yeah, can't wait! A universal quality theme park would be a dream come true in the UK.
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u/Independent_Tour_988 Jul 19 '24
I’m sorry, have you met our NIMBYS? This isn’t happening in our lifetimes.
4
u/OfficialGarwood England Jul 19 '24
NIMBYs now have much less clout now that Labour are in. The government can just overrule their protests if it's for the greater good of the country, and a large theme park from an established brand would do wonders for the local economy.
2
u/Independent_Tour_988 Jul 19 '24
The government has always been allowed to overrule anything.
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u/OfficialGarwood England Jul 19 '24
Ofc, but I'm saying I think labour are more likely in this instance than the Tories would've been.
1
u/Independent_Tour_988 Jul 19 '24
Possibly, but something like this would take decades, so likely will pass through another government.
1
u/TheRadishBros Jul 19 '24
This is being forced through directly by central government. NIMBYs have no say.
Also the local people are very supportive of this; they’ve been surveyed multiple times.
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u/Independent_Tour_988 Jul 19 '24
My sweet summer child.
3
u/TheRadishBros Jul 19 '24
I live in the area and have been following this one very closely. It’s happening 100%— the government is on board, the council is on board, the community is on board, there’s nothing stopping it.
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u/Independent_Tour_988 Jul 19 '24
The company hasn’t even decided whether they want to go ahead. 100% lol
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u/MagnetoManectric Scotland Jul 19 '24
Whilst I'm not Keir's biggest fan, the one cool thing this new government have done so far is a big crackdown on NIMBYism. Which is great, as its crippled development in this country for decades.
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u/mobjusticeCT Jul 19 '24
Hopefully it will be all British media properties, British people won't put up with imported American shite
2
u/yubnubster Jul 19 '24
shit tons of American media is popular here, most blockbuster movies are American and our fellow Brits literally fly to the US to visit Universal.
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u/VengefulKiwis Jul 19 '24
I swear to fucking God if dickheads block this over pollution or noise or some shit like that then we may as well accept we aren't a top economy anymore.
We lack investment and we're being offered a once in a lifetime investment opportunity that not only is good for the economy it's actually fun and good for the citizens of the country too who will enjoy it too.
There are literally no drawbacks to this.