Potential New Universal UK Park

[Matt.GC]

Buying brownfield sites in the UK is practically risk free, what with an increasing population and national housing crisis. McDonald's and Tesco have owned land that's never seen a cheeseburger or cabbage and some of us might be sat in a house built on land they previously owned right now without ever knowing about it.

Land Banking is easy. Buy the land and if Dorris at number 43 complains about the colour of entrance signs, which results in a cash starved council demanding you pay for the new bypass that they've wanted to build for the last 15 years, you just flog your land to Persimmon or St Modwen for a tidy profit and walk away.

 

[Ted]

The two (!) railway lines that will effectively run past this park are great. However, the only station that currently exists is (as you've mentioned) the Kempston Hardwick station, which is on the currently-underused line between Oxford and Cambridge. The new East-West rail will improve things I'm sure.

Ideally, you'd also be building a high-capacity station on the Midlands Mainline, near to Wixams, to serve the rail passengers arriving from the Midlands and London (and Luton Airport).

They actually have proposed a station in Wixams so it's possible! Will make the business case for it stronger

 

[John_P]

Nice to see it's north of London so it'll much easier for the whole of the country to visit compared to the proposed London Resort site.

Also means it'll be something more likely to make all the UKs major parks look to invest in new rides and attractions over the next decade to prepare for a 2030 opening.

 

[Dave]

I agree with Craig on this one, it’s clear there is substance to this but there is still risk as Universal won’t mess around.

Hope it does happen though, the UK industry needs a kick up the bum.

 

[Benjsh]

Considering the planning permission being granted previously for the business park, I don't think there's much of a chance of it being turned down on those grounds like London Resort was. The land was only cleared relatively recently, and a lot of it is still covered in the hard standing that held the buildings.

If the rumour of predominately indoor attractions is true, then noise shouldn't be too much of an issue. Traffic will be the main sticking point I think, but as mentioned it's a much smaller deal than it was at London Resort.

Yes, the planning system is an absolute effort in the UK, but things will get granted if they're done properly. My only concern that's reining in my excitement is that a company as huge as Universal/Comcast will likely have expansion goals and likely strict timelines in mind. If they slip too much as a result of planning issues, they're more than willing and able to walk away as a result.

Stop it Craig. You're giving me hope. Haha

 

[Cryptocoaster]

This is hugely exciting. I just hope they can navigate it through our ridiculous planning system without too much cost & lost time. I noticed they claim it to be a 500 acre site. Is anybody able to put that into context regarding other top parks? Basically how much will they be able to pack in including space for car parks, hotels etc?

 

[Benjsh]

This is hugely exciting. I just hope they can navigate it through our ridiculous planning system without too much cost & lost time. I noticed they claim it to be a 500 acre site. Is anybody able to put that into context regarding other top parks? Basically how much will they be able to pack in including space for car parks, hotels etc?

Wasn't it mentioned somewhere that there is plenty more land outside of the 500 acres too though? That could easily be bought up too.

 

[Bowser]

This is hugely exciting. I just hope they can navigate it through our ridiculous planning system without too much cost & lost time. I noticed they claim it to be a 500 acre site. Is anybody able to put that into context regarding other top parks? Basically how much will they be able to pack in including space for car parks, hotels etc?

500 acres is pretty big.

Universal Singapore is supposedly 49 acres with Universal Japan 130 acres.

Alton Towers is about 900 all in and then only really Disney parks and a few others are bigger.

 

[Joel]

This is where they are actually just buying the land and domain names to build an actual [film] studio, and not a theme park

Alas that seems unlikely given they have just finished building Sky Studios Elstree earlier this year… or maybe it is just another expansion!

Either way, I’m taking it all with a massive pinch of salt until there’s some actual plans or confirmation submitted.

Many companies land grab and make grand plans to excite board members and shareholders in private that never actually see the light of day, and given even domain names are dirt cheap to register, there’s no substance behind that existing either, especially as Mark Monitor are known for registering domains that are in any way related to a company that uses them, even if they never actually use them.

(And I know that from experience having sold domains to Mark Monitor for some company trying to protect their brand and then still not using the domain to this day….!)

 

[Matt N]

Exciting! I know that there are absolutely still hurdles to navigate, and absolutely nothing is a given at this stage, but I hope that the confirmation of a UK land purchase by Comcast is enough to convince some of the sceptics that the rumour may well hold weight.

I have to say that I think Bedford is a very good location for the UK regional market. It’s near enough to Greater London and the surrounding area to be doable in a day, but it is certainly more reachable from the likes of Birmingham/Manchester/Liverpool/Sheffield/Leeds etc than, say, the proposed location for the London Resort. According to Maps, it’s less than an hour from areas of North London and perhaps a bit over an hour from some of the areas further south in London, but it’s also only around 1.5 hours from many of the suburban areas surrounding Birmingham, which, for reference, is (surprisingly) not much longer than it takes to get to Alton Towers from those same areas. Sheffield and Leeds are also only 2-2.5 hours away, and even Manchester and Liverpool are only, maybe, 3 hours away at most.

It’s also an advantageous location in terms of local competition. There are no theme parks currently operating in Bedfordshire. The only two major-ish theme parks operating in any adjoining county (the adjoining counties are Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire) are Gulliver’s Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire and Wicksteed Park in Northamptonshire, both of which are definitely on the smaller end of the scale on the countrywide scene.

I did have concerns about whether Bedford might be a bit too far from London to tap into the international visitor market, but I guess that London Luton Airport is pretty nearby. London Heathrow also appears to be less than an hour away by car according to Maps.

Out of interest, is the named site easily reachable from the motorway, like the likes of Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor are? Or is it more of an Alton Towers-type situation, where you wind your way through rural roads for what feels like ages after you leave the motorway?

 

[Squiggs]

I noticed they claim it to be a 500 acre site. Is anybody able to put that into context regarding other top parks? Basically how much will they be able to pack in including space for car parks, hotels etc?

I believe 500 acres is about the posted size of Animal Kingdom and around five time the area of Magic Kingdom. Though I think those figures are just for the parks (i.e. no resort infrastructure, etc.)

It is about two thirds of the size of the site that Epic Universe is being built on according to Wikipedia - which I suspect does include the area of the park, hotels and parking.

If what's been posted so far is in fact the land the Universal owns, I think it would be a safe bet to say that the hotels/parking will be on the other side of the railway to the park.

 

[havaska]

Exciting! I know that there are absolutely still hurdles to navigate, and absolutely nothing is a given at this stage, but I hope that the confirmation of a UK land purchase by Comcast is enough to convince some of the sceptics that the rumour may well hold weight.

I have to say that I think Bedford is a very good location for the UK regional market. It’s near enough to Greater London and the surrounding area to be doable in a day, but it is certainly more reachable from the likes of Birmingham/Manchester/Liverpool/Sheffield/Leeds etc than, say, the proposed location for the London Resort. According to Maps, it’s less than an hour from areas of North London and perhaps a bit over an hour from some of the areas further south in London, but it’s also only around 1.5 hours from many of the suburban areas surrounding Birmingham, which, for reference, is (surprisingly) not much longer than it takes to get to Alton Towers from those same areas. Sheffield and Leeds are also only 2-2.5 hours away, and even Manchester and Liverpool are only, maybe, 3 hours away at most.

It’s also an advantageous location in terms of local competition. There are no theme parks currently operating in Bedfordshire. The only two major-ish theme parks operating in any adjoining county (the adjoining counties are Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire) are Gulliver’s Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire and Wicksteed Park in Northamptonshire, both of which are definitely on the smaller end of the scale on the countrywide scene.

I did have concerns about whether Bedford might be a bit too far from London to tap into the international visitor market, but I guess that London Luton Airport is pretty nearby. London Heathrow also appears to be less than an hour away by car according to Maps.

Out of interest, is the named site easily reachable from the motorway, like the likes of Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor are? Or is it more of an Alton Towers-type situation, where you wind your way through rural roads for what feels like ages after you leave the motorway?

The site is on the side of the A421, which whilst not a motorway is a grade separated dual carriageway (de facto motorway). It connects to the M1 and A1/A1(M).

So it’s a very well connected site road wise.

 

[Craig]

Out of interest, is the named site easily reachable from the motorway, like the likes of Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor are? Or is it more of an Alton Towers-type situation, where you wind your way through rural roads for what feels like ages after you leave the motorway?

Google Maps is your friend. The land confirmed as owned by Comcast is to the north east of Kempston Hardwick Station (Kempston Brickworks), with the rumoured land to the south (Stewartby Brickworks).

 

[Benjsh]

Just been reading that a well respected Disney Imagineer of 33 years, Jim Shull, commented that 'without revealing sources this is more than a merely a rumour'.

Exciting times guys. This might actually be happening.


From: https://twitter.com/JimShull/status/1736790814104465737

 

[Josh555]

If they make this my main hope is that the garish Union Jack will be nowhere near the logo. Reminds me of the King’s Coronation which isn’t a good look.

Universal wouldn’t want their good name besmirched by association with the gammons of this country you’d hope.

 

[BBoyJD10]

If they make this my main hope is that the garish Union Jack will be nowhere near the logo. Reminds me of the King’s Coronation which isn’t a good look.

Universal wouldn’t want their good name besmirched by association with the gammons of this country you’d hope.

Oh great a grip and be proud of the country! It should most definitely have the flag! Universal Great Britain here we come!

 

[JT01]

If they make this my main hope is that the garish Union Jack will be nowhere near the logo. Reminds me of the King’s Coronation which isn’t a good look.

Universal wouldn’t want their good name besmirched by association with the gammons of this country you’d hope.

well is flag of the United Kingdom so im guessing its going to be used in some way!

 

[Josh555]

S

Oh great a grip and be proud of the country! It should most definitely have the flag! Universal Great Britain here we come!

It was half tongue in cheek although I’m about as unpatriotic as they come, but as much as anything else I just think it looks a bit garish and crap.

They don’t do it on any of their other resorts as far as I’m aware anyway.

 

[Matt N]

None of Universal’s other park logos have their respective country flags in them, so I doubt that Universal would put the British flag in the logo for a British Universal park either.

 

[JT01]

I think it will most likely be used as regular flags at the entrance to the park maybe.. i dunno