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Potential New Universal UK Park

Josh555 said:
Out of interest are there any examples of companies with *'credible' proposals purchasing land for a theme park and then selling it without the park going ahead that anyone is aware of? Appreciate that there are likely a few but I just wondered how common to help ascertain how likely that is to happen.

*Note that the word 'credible' excludes the London Resort.
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For theme parks? No, as parks built from scratch are such a rare breed in most countries, even more so in the UK.

But on the other hand I can name hundreds of huge chunks of former industrial land across the country that've been bought by investment companies for housing or commercial use that have purely been bought speculatively and sold on. I live next to a rather large one that's had a number planning applications, all accepted yet it's been sold on multiple times and nothing has happened on it.

I don't think anyone is saying it's 100% not going to happen, just to remain sceptical as there's a lot that can change prior to a planning application going in let alone being accepted. That's especially the case with a company like Comcast who can easily buy multiple different land options across Europe with a view to eventually only building on one.
 
Craig said:
For theme parks? No, as parks built from scratch are such a rare breed in most countries, even more so in the UK.

But on the other hand I can name hundreds of huge chunks of former industrial land across the country that've been bought by investment companies for housing or commercial use that have purely been bought speculatively and sold on. I live next to a rather large one that's had a number planning applications, all accepted yet it's been sold on multiple times and nothing has happened on it.

I don't think anyone is saying it's 100% not going to happen, just to remain sceptical as there's a lot that can change prior to a planning application going in let alone being accepted. That's especially the case with a company like Comcast who can easily buy multiple different land options across Europe with a view to eventually only building on one.
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Fair enough and that makes sense.
 
Dave said:
I know it’s been said before but I love how in two weeks a plan has appeared for a new theme park that is already 100 x more credible than a decade of people banging on about London resort.

The statement from Comcast does suggest this is in no way a done deal though, i suspect they have only just started the feasibility studies, i know they have purchased the land but its better to buy the land, do feasibility and then if its a no go sell it on.
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I think someone else said it but sensible decision on their part buying the land through a shell company before the extant owners got wind and hiked the price because Universal/Comcast are sniffing around.

Stick a large interchange on the Marston Vale line and/or Thameslink and planning will get bulldozed through for something like this I reckon.
 
benpicko said:
For size comparison, here's Disneyland Paris's two parks compared with just the upper section of land:
1702996383417.png
And here's Islands of Adventure and Universal Orlando:
1702996025915.png

It's really not an insignificant portion of land, and both of the above park examples fit in the section above Manor Road, so there's still a lot of room for hotels etc.
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That's a really interesting comparison, there are also other parcels of land next to or near by that could be snapped up for future developments. Many current UK parks struggle with space so it would be great to see a park with loads of room to grow
 
Relife said:
That's a really interesting comparison, there are also other parcels of land next to or near by that could be snapped up for future developments. Many current UK parks struggle with space so it would be great to see a park with loads of room to grow
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A few people have said this but then as others have said, wouldn't the price be ridiculously hiked if they try to purchase it later? Have any other UK theme parks ever bought extra land?
 
LEGOLAND have. The area the new Woodland Village is currently being built on was not originally owned by the park. It was previously used as overflow car parking but it was effectively leased to them and could only be used X number of days in the year. Similarly they've bought a farm next to that site as well, but have not yet used that land.

However I'm sure it cost them far more than it would have if they'd bought it back in the 1990s, even considering inflation.
 
If it is genuine intent and they’ve just basically outed the land they’ve bought, then i sincerely hope they’ve got first option on the surrounding land. As anyone who’s been to Disneyland California will attest, if they haven’t, there’s about to be a sh*t ton of speculative land purchases going on right now around the boundary - I can imagine anyone within a mile or two of the indicated boundary has just added a local commercial estate agent to speed dial…
 
McCarthyB said:
The graphic that has been cited to Universal themselves is about 470-480 acres of land. There are other plots of land nearby for sale or for future development.
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I did some rough napkin math in Google Earth and got 456 acres.
 
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Rob said:
It does make a nice change for a local media outlet, and one that is seemingly not owned by Reach plc, picked up on this and did some good old fashioned journalism by going to Universal and actually getting a great response. I do wonder if the mayor of Bedford Borough gave them a nudge, so that they too could be at the centre of the universe!

For those who have not read the article, this is the official map that Universal provided showing the land that they have:

Universal-Studios-purchased-land-in-Kempston-Hardwick.jpg


A penny for the thoughts of those who live in the few properties on Manor Road bang in the middle of the site!
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Interesting they've marked Thameslink on there, I wouldn't be surprised if a new Marne-la-Vallée Chessy type of station was built as part of the plans. I know someone said earlier public transport is often a box ticking exercise with developments like this but I really think that is the case here. Over £5 billion has been spent upgrading the Thameslink line, it's a huge capacity line that runs 24 hours a day. A station here would be less than 40 minutes from St Pancras so would link with Eurostar and be a prime attraction for day trips for foreigners doing short breaks in London. It would have direct trains to both Luton and Gatwick Airport, as well as direct trains as far as Cambridge to the north and Brighton to the south. Linking with the Elizabeth line at Farringdon means it's about 90 minutes from Heathrow. I live in East London and this would be a little over an hour from my flat by train so I'd be making regular day trips and I'm sure plenty of other car less London families would too.
 
There’s something I’ve been wondering, how would this Universal news affect the proposed Puy De Fou UK park?

From what I gather, they were planning for a UK park and were looking for a 300 to 400 acre site within a 40 mile radius of Oxford as that was their preferred location. According to an article in the Oxford Mail from June they still hadn’t identified a site, but were looking to open two new parks in the world before 2030 with the UK remaining a preferred country.

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23606971.puy-du-fou-update-oxford-search-first-uk-theme-park/

Interestingly, Kempston is 55 miles away from Oxford so you are looking as the same part of the country perhaps and maybe the same catchment area. Do Universal’s plans now help Puy Du Fou in that it could bring a massive amount of people to that area and have it be seen as complimentary attractions? Could it make Puy Du Fou want to alter their plans? Imagine if they decided they wanted to get nearer to the action and be in even closer vicinity to Universal UK.
 
Bowser said:
None for sale (currently).

Will be an absolute nightmare for them presumably although depending on where the entrance ends up being likely most people won't drive that way. The train station is up the road though.
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Depends how big a sack of money lands on their doorstep.


Drone shots of a field. Jesus wept the goons are excitable.
 
Lewis232 said:
Interesting they've marked Thameslink on there, I wouldn't be surprised if a new Marne-la-Vallée Chessy type of station was built as part of the plans. I know someone said earlier public transport is often a box ticking exercise with developments like this but I really think that is the case here. Over £5 billion has been spent upgrading the Thameslink line, it's a huge capacity line that runs 24 hours a day. A station here would be less than 40 minutes from St Pancras so would link with Eurostar and be a prime attraction for day trips for foreigners doing short breaks in London. It would have direct trains to both Luton and Gatwick Airport, as well as direct trains as far as Cambridge to the north and Brighton to the south. Linking with the Elizabeth line at Farringdon means it's about 90 minutes from Heathrow. I live in East London and this would be a little over an hour from my flat by train so I'd be making regular day trips and I'm sure plenty of other car less London families would too.
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There is already an existing plan to build a station in this exact location on the Thameslink line.

Work was due to start in summer 2023. But to date, nothing has happened: https://www.bedford.gov.uk/parking-...ojects/wixams-station/wixams-station-overview

Ensuring appropriate public transport provision is a major part of any planning application of this magnitude. I would imagine that if/when any planning application comes to fruition, it will almost certainly include detailed information about the currently unbuilt Wixams train station. The currently proposed station will need considerable expanding for Universal amounts of passengers. Currently they only wanted to build 2 platforms on the "local" (slow) lines, but they would surely need a full 4 platforms to be able to service the faster "express" lines too. But since they haven't even started building it yet, it's not too late for them to revise any plans, and ensure they leave an option open to expand the station in future.

In the recent Sphere planning application for London, MSG had agreed to pay for station upgrades at Stratford, including a brand new entrance to the station. I would imagine we would see the same thing here, as agreeing to pay for the necessary public infrastructure is generally a requirement for a successful application in 2023. As well as a considerable sweetener to nearby homeowners who will benefit greatly from having a major London train connection added to their doorsteps. In both convenience, and property value.
 
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