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Potential New Universal UK Park

For those of you who didn't read the link to the quotes, I think this quote should get you very excited:
Talking for the first time in detail about the plans, Thompson said the company had long viewed Europe as an opportunity to build “one of the greatest theme parks in the world”, adding: “After searching for many years, we think we have found the right site in Bedford.”
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rob666 said:
Hopefully mate, but that will be with the great british weather for construction, the occasional chronic shortages of materials and skilled labour, and covid/brexit/stagnation/bloody rare worms and orchids...
It could be ten.
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Nonsense, this country has a fantastic reputation for timely large scale construction projects… as long as the government are not involved at any stage.
 
BSwiss said:
Anyone want to partner on a Gregg’s franchise? If no one’s keen, I’m taking the idea to Sanbrooke.
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This is England, builders are not fussy, a bacon butty van will do, the favorite cuisine of choice for many a workman.

Half of England was built on cups of tea and bacon baps. Infact, one could argue they are one of the things still keeping this economy ticking over.
 
Bowser said:
Nonsense, this country has a fantastic reputation for timely large scale construction projects… as long as the government are not involved at any stage.
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I was about to post the same thing. The private sector are very capable of getting things done it's when the government is more involved when things go wrong or take ages.

The idea we can't build anything in the UK is a bit of press spin that you hear alot these days and seems to be based solely around government infrastructure projects. I'm sure contractors will be lining up for such a huge project.
 
havaska said:
The government can get things built in decent time too. The Olympic stadium for example.
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That's kind of irrelevant when the initial cost was £280m and ended up costing over £700m. It proves the point even more they can't manage a single thing. They had no choice to throw money at it, they managed it so badly it fell well behind and there is no stopping the start of the Oylmpics, they start when they start and that is that.

It would have been hugely delayed if they didn't throw so much money at it. Going massively overbudget in the process. So it is two sides of the same coin. They could have gone less over budget, but still over budget at yhe cost getting the thing being hugely delayed.
 
havaska said:
The government can get things built in decent time too. The Olympic stadium for example.
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Yeah, the dome comes to mind...
And we have all that massive sports complex in Manchester that isn't used 90% of the time.

And the private sector does so well...
Timely construction projects in the entertainment sector...
Co op Live comes quickly to mind.
Didn't they do well.
 
I would sooner not risk the "air conditioning headache".
I get it at the best of times.
Somebody start the stopwatch, I think nearer a decade than five years...would help if I knew what year it is...
 
rob666 said:
I would sooner not risk the "air conditioning headache".
I get it at the best of times.
Somebody start the stopwatch, I think nearer a decade than five years...would help if I knew what year it is...
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My feeling is that Universal are looking at 2031 to open, it matches with the construction timeline and gives them enough leeway to account for any issues or disruptions.
 
Naa, you are just hedging your bets in the middle!
I've worked out the date, 2034 if you are lucky mate.
Even luckier if I get to visit.
Just remember to quote me when it opens.
 
rob666 said:
Naa, you are just hedging your bets in the middle!
I've worked out the date, 2034 if you are lucky mate.
Even luckier if I get to visit.
Just remember to quote me when it opens.
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So construction starts 2029? Did Universal suddenly become the government or something? If even covid couldn't delay Epic Universe that much, I think they'll be able to get this started within a reasonable timeframe. As for the actual construction, not seeing how our weather or anything could add 3-4 years to the project buildtime, after all Universal have done this multiple times before, they know what they are doing.

I get you're a bit of a pessimist Rob and you've seen multiple projects get tied up in red-tape or delayed over and over again. But considering their track record couldn't you give Universal the benefit of the doubt here? Especially as they'll be constructing it entirely themselves and they have a great track record with these projects.
 
@xtpower this hasn’t even gone through formal planning yet. Anything can happen. I’d imagine it’ll take 18 months from the application to approval. Then a year to put all the contractors together, get concrete plans in place. 2034 may be a bit unrealistic and sarcastic, but I think 2030 is a real push.
 
They are building a theme park not the great pyramids of Giza. 2030-31 is realistic given the current progress and timescales. I could see a planning application going in by the end of this year with preparation work on the site starting at the end of 2025. Proper construction starting end of 2026 or beginning of 2027. Bare in mind the site is flat open fields with good access so it's not a difficult plot to build one which is one of the reasons it was chosen.
 
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