Was planning permission for Stealth plain sailing?
Anything 200 feet plus is prime for planning scrutiny from residents and potential trimming down surely.
From what I can tell, Stealth got through fairly easily, but the locals were not told about it prior to the planning permission being granted, which did generate some uproar.
It’s also worth remembering that Stealth was submitted towards the end of the 2004 season for a 2006 opening; if this is 2024 as rumoured, they’ve gotten themselves a significant head start compared to Stealth, and compared to any other coaster they’ve ever built.
My personal logic is that the height of the ride may be why the park have gone for a full consultation. If you get the locals on side early, then it’s probably more likely that your big ride won’t encounter too many issues in planning. Also, why would they spend all that extra money on a full consultation if they were building a regularly-sized coaster, which would surely get through with a regular planning application?
A few hours before the potential reveal of some info, my personal prediction remains a hyper coaster that breaks the UK height record. As for exactly how tall; I think it will top both BPB’s claim of 235ft and RCDB’s claim of 213ft. My guess would be around 250ft, but I also don’t think a giga coaster is out of the question.
Thorpe needs a ride that will make a real statement and sell itself effortlessly, and a coaster that broke the UK height record by ~100ft would certainly do that! I also think a ride of 250ft or so would do that, and be absolutely amazing, but could you imagine a giga coaster at Thorpe? That wouldn’t just take the UK height record, that would blow it to pieces!