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Potential New Universal UK Park

Fuct said:
The only park I see this happening with is Legoland, purely because it's likely a household name for overseas visitors already. If they come over and look at a 'list of things to do', Universal and Legoland will likely stand out as the Theme Park offerings to the average punter.
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That’s possible but as there are now 4789 Legoland theme parks across the world (maybe I’m slightly exaggerating) most people have one near them.

And let’s be honest Windsor is one of the weaker Lego parks.
 
I agree with @Dave. I think Thorpe, Chessington and Legoland would fall into the “Parc Asterix” type role of being primarily domestic venues located near to the capital and soaking up the population that lives in the immediate Greater London/South East locality, as well as some folks from slightly further afield (for instance, I know anecdotally that the London parks still pull fair visitor numbers from my local South West region).

I can maybe see an argument for Legoland being more heavily targeted towards tourists, as I seem to remember hearing that they are actively pursuing 365-day operation and they do have the brand recognition on their side, but I’m still not sure that Merlin would want to target tourists to London too much with that one. With Thorpe Park and Chessington, I definitely see those parks staying as primarily regional/domestic parks for a multitude of reasons.
 
So all these rumours/leaks have got me to come and log in here for the first time in a while! It's all quite exciting.

While it's certainly a long way off being confirmed, it's quite mad that in the space of about 24 hours, this project has become more viable/realistic than the London Resort has ever been. I've always been sceptical of the London Resort, but this already seems like less of a stretch.

In the last 24 hours alone:
  • Confirmation of a land purchase in the Bedford/Milton Keynes area
  • Leak of a concept image, which while very conceptual/blue sky, appears to be legit
  • Multiple respected insider sources corroborating, including well known imagineer Jim Shull stating this is "more than a rumour"
One of the most interesting things to come out is the concept image, which clearly shows a park located next to the M1 across from Milton Keynes. This is actually a different plot of land to the one we now know they have acquired. However the plots of land are remarkably nearby. The concept image also seemingly shows a monorail/rail link which goes over the top of the M1, and appears to connect to Gulliver's Land, and perhaps the wider Milton Keynes area.

It is actually this detail, which suggests this project could be much further progressed than most people realise. It's beginning to seem like they may have acquired, or be in the process of acquiring, multiple plots of nearby land. This could include the plot of land near Bedford, the land near Milton Keynes in the concept art, and perhaps even Gulliver's Land itself. The inclusion of a monorail which goes over the M1 suggests that conversations with the UK government and local authorities could already be well progressed.

Of course, details such as a monorail over the M1, or anything in the concept art is still early, and not worth reading into the actual details themselves. And they may just be "theoretical concepts" rather than anything that might actually happen. But what it does demonstrate, is a serious commitment to this area of the UK, and well progressed discussions with local/national authorities, as well as considerable land acquisitions.

This project is not just speculative, it's clear Universal have been, and are giving this very serious consideration. And given the 11 month age of the concept art, have been for a while. How very exciting indeed, compared to 24 hours ago when this still seemed highly speculative.

Of course, anything can and will happen, and this could well never go anywhere. But Universal are clearly serious about this, it's not just a speculative land grab. Let's hope they can make it work.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Even building studios seems unlikely to me. Most of them in this country are being closed and replaced with luxury bloody flats. No one is making studio based shows any more.
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TV studios seem to be closing down but film studios are being built, there are several under construction. I think TV is changing and there is a lot less focus on content made in studios, but due to the tax breaks the film industry is generally still growing in the UK.

But I doubt Universal/Comcast are building more studios as there is plenty of space already in the works.
 
Fair enough, film is not TV. ;)

Back on topic (sorry Craig!) Of course I would like to see a project like this happen. But we we all know we just can’t have nice things in this country.
 
On the point of "who this competes with".

I actually think Alton Towers could be the worst impacted, rather than the parks surrounding London. The parks around London are well located to attract domestic day trip visitors, and generally appeal to different demographics than a Universal Park would. Thorpe Park catering to teenage thrill seekers in a sort of "Six Flags" sense, and Chessington and Legoland geared towards much younger children. All of these parks are generally visited as a day trip by UK locals.

Alton Towers is a destination park, that does very good business selling overnight stays. And probably appeals to a similar demographic as Universal would do, that being family groups with slightly older children looking for a short break to a theme park. While day trippers from the Northern/Midland towns would likely still be attracted to Alton Towers as a day trip, it is those overnight stays that could be in trouble. A lot of those overnight stays at Alton Towers are from visitors coming from London and the South. But how many of those current visitors would drive past Universal on the M1 to visit Alton Towers instead?

I don't see Alton Towers going anywhere, but their ability to sell overnight stays may be significantly hampered, and we may see their current accommodation offerings forced becoming a more "budget friendly" kind of thing to stay competitive, which could really hurt their bottom line.
 
Sku said:
A lot of those overnight stays at Alton Towers are from visitors coming from London and the South. But how many of those current visitors would drive past Universal on the M1 to visit Alton Towers instead?
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AT at least has the Water Park which is presumably a very good enticement for overnight stays. One day theme park, one day water park.

Although Chessington will be offering that from next year too.

Either way would be very surprised if Universal build a water park so that's at least another USP up Merlin's sleeve (pun intended).
 
A six year timescale may seem like a long time but I wouldn't be surprised to see a consultation in the next 12 months with a possible planning application in 2025 giving scope incase any issues or setbacks arrive. A large project like this needs 2-3 year to get through planning even before the build stage.

I would also expect discussions have taken place to sound out the council and government. If they have the support of both beforehand it will make the whole scheme far more likely to happen. I doubt a company like Comcast would purchase all that land without some sort of discussion with either.
 
I’d be surprised if it doesn’t get support of local & national government. A huge multi-billion multi-national company is literally asking for permission to pour $100Ms into your economy, they’d be mad to say no.

Nimbys will play on the environment card big time though, that’ll be the problem.
 
Cryptocoaster said:
Nimbys will play on the environment card big time though, that’ll be the problem.
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I’m not sure they can play the environment card in this case, though. Or at least, not as easily as with the London Resort or Universal’s original proposal in Essex back in the late 80s.

The brickworks that formerly resided on the land were only demolished in 2021, and there was a previous proposal for a business park on the land that got planning permission accepted. How is a theme park really much different from an environmental/habitat destroying standpoint?
 
There is some feeling from those over in the US that if Universal are to go ahead with this, they would likely want to complete and open Epic Universe before anything really starts, as they only want to be building one major theme park at a time. Construction of Epic Universe began once Universal Studios Beijing opened, there or there abouts.

I'm sure Comcast will have held discussions with local and central government representatives, they're not likely to just spring this on everyone. I do find it interesting that the major of the Bedford borough said that the £950 million upgrade of the A428 will put Bedford at the "centre of the universe". He was referring to connectivity of many major routes, and wouldn't want to spill any beans, but there's every chance he would be clued up as to what the broad plans going forward are.

I think the Bedford/Milton Keynes area is a good central location for such a park. There is a lot of land in the area, but it's also close enough to London to be marketed at a tourists. Close proximity to the M1 means good access from the wider London area and the Midlands, so there's a huge catchment area.
 
I agree that this competes with Alton Towers the most, but to be honest, the current product offering from Alton Towers and especially the hotels, is pretty poor.

The market is absolutely big enough for more players but if Alton Towers want to continue to make money and attract visitors they need to improve their hotel offerings to match the new competition. Some of the prices they’ve charged for the hotels this year have been outrageous.
 
Matt N said:
I’m not sure they can play the environment card in this case, though. Or at least, not as easily as with the London Resort or Universal’s original proposal in Essex back in the late 80s.

The brickworks that formerly resided on the land were only demolished in 2021, and there was a previous proposal for a business park on the land that got planning permission accepted. How is a theme park really much different from an environmental/habitat destroying standpoint?
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I hope you’re right. Even with all the buildings Universal could probably make that area environmentally better off & more beautiful than the current mix of concrete & big open fields.
 
Matt N said:
I’m not sure they can play the environment card in this case, though. Or at least, not as easily as with the London Resort or Universal’s original proposal in Essex back in the late 80s.

The brickworks that formerly resided on the land were only demolished in 2021, and there was a previous proposal for a business park on the land that got planning permission accepted. How is a theme park really much different from an environmental standpoint?
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I wouldn't take the previous permission for a business park as a given that a theme park would be given permission just as easily. There's a far greater amount of traffic in play and probably much more in the way of land being disturbed and remodeled in comparison to warehouse use. Then there's the increased noise in the area too.

I actually think 2030 is probably a push considering the work that needs to be done so believe it'll end up being later than that. I do also still see hurdles for them to jump to get permission. But I see it as a far more realistic prospect compared to London Resort which I had massive reservations about in the first place. Of course we can all have a moan about the UK's planning system, but I'd far sooner prefer them to get the issues out the way before it's built and not deal with a Roper style situation further down the line.
 
John_P said:
www.bedfordindependent.co.uk

Breaking news: Universal Studios confirm they are planning a theme park in Bedford Borough - Bedford Independent

Excitement has been building in and around Bedford over the last 24 hours after a respected theme park website reported on evidence...
www.bedfordindependent.co.uk www.bedfordindependent.co.uk

Ooh, universal have confirmed they've bought the land are considering building a park in the area.
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That whole article reads like a pre-pack press release.

Makes me wonder just how much of this stuff has been floating around for a while and been embargoed before it all "leaks" in the same few days.
 
dave___ said:
That whole article reads like a pre-pack press release.

Makes me wonder just how much of this stuff has been floating around for a while and been embargoed before it all "leaks" in the same few days.
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The Sun have also picked this story up (read lifted from Reddit you don’t get real journalism anymore) but have less information than the Bedford Independent. So they definitely don’t have a pre-pack press release.
 
dave___ said:
That whole article reads like a pre-pack press release.

Makes me wonder just how much of this stuff has been floating around for a while and been embargoed before it all "leaks" in the same few days.
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I don't see much in there that reads like a press release? I see a lot of regurgitation of the Parkstop article, much of which was stressed as rumour that's about it?

A key bit from the spokesperson though:
“We recently acquired land in Bedford [Borough] and are at the early stages of exploring its feasibility for a potential park and resort at this site.

“It will be many months before we are ready to make a decision to proceed and we look forward to engaging with all relevant stakeholders and the local community.”
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I think this is why we need to hold back going all out on it just yet. If there was a whiff about universal before the land was bought, the price would skyrocket. Everyone knows the story of Disney and buying land in Florida on the quiet - that's not a possibility in the age of the internet. So they've likely bought speculatively and then deal with the feasibility of building later.
 
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