Universal GB - Archived Pre Announcement Discussion

[Matt N]

Wait, so would that mean that the announcement will actually also be an announcement that planning permission has been granted through the SDO?

Very, very unlikely. I’d imagine there will still need to be rigorous public and governmental consultation on the exact contents of the SDO; the government won’t just approve it behind closed doors and ride completely roughshod over the wishes of locals.

 

[LHN2024]

Wait, so would that mean that the announcement will actually also be an announcement that planning permission has been granted through the SDO?

No, The SDO has to be ratified by government and before that can even be done the document has to satisfy all necessary stakeholders and DCMS who I think are spearheading the SDO process. Before the SDO can even be debated to become a statutory instrument a consultation period will have to take place for at least 30 days where more detailed plans are available so that objections can be raised if necessary.

Unless they’ve massively changed the SDO/ NSIP process this isn’t the case but I’d say the chances of that are non-existent.

 

[benpicko]

Very, very unlikely. I’d imagine there will still need to be rigorous public and governmental consultation on the exact contents of the SDO; the government won’t just approve it behind closed doors and ride completely roughshod over the wishes of locals.

Isn’t that the entire point of an SDO? That a planning request isn’t issued to the local government — it’s approved directly by the state?

 

[FeverDream00]

I work for one of the statutory consultees and when I was trawling through the new timesheet codes for FY 2025-26 last week I just by chance spotted a code specifically for this project. Clearly they have (there may have been a code for the FY just gone I'm not sure) or will be engaging with statutory consultees very soon.

 

[Craig]

Wait, so would that mean that the announcement will actually also be an announcement that planning permission has been granted through the SDO?

Definitely not. As @LHN2024 says:

• They submit a draft SDO application
• The clock then starts on a 30 day statutory consultation period where both statutory consultees (like the council) and the general public can respond to it. Some statutory consultees have had view of this prior to submission under NDA, but the 30 days still has to take place regardless.
• Off the back of that, a final report is then written off the back of that consultation period (that will take some time)
• It then goes off to the Secretary of State for review and a decision (again more time)
• Then it goes before Parliament for approval (this needs to be scheduled into the business of both houses for multiple readings including debate - again more time I'm afraid!)
• The SDO is then granted

So it's fast tracked, but we also need to be realistic that this is still a massive undertaking and will still take time.

Isn’t that the entire point of an SDO? That a planning request isn’t issued to the local government — it’s approved directly by the state?

Yes, it's still approved directly by the state, however it still must be appropriately consulted on by both statutory consultees and the general public. We would still see an announcement, a period of looking at plans and then a decision further down the line after a few months at the very, very least.

It's incredibly difficult to work out just what they have to include in an SDO application. As mentioned in the video above, it's very new for an SDO to be used in this way, so there's little to compare to in terms of what that application contains. Does it simply show a rough area for each part of the attraction as the website shows? Does it just show white boxes where attractions will go? Or will we get a little bit more concept art? It's really difficult to say at the moment as this is such an entirely unique concept to go through an SDO.

I do still worry that we'll see some sort of kick back off the SDO process being used for a theme park, but maybe that's the worrier in me! On the upside, the government have shown that they're willing to push stuff through if necessary (see Luton airport's recent expansion), but I still have that fear that it's not necessarily all plain sailing.

 

[Matt N]

Isn’t that the entire point of an SDO? That a planning request isn’t issued to the local government — it’s approved directly by the state?

That is the point of an SDO, yes, but even still, they won’t just ride roughshod over local sentiment.

They will have to consult residents in some capacity on the proposals and let them have their say. For some people living in Kempston Hardwick, Stewartby, Bedford and other surrounding areas, this could upend their daily lives in ways that aren’t entirely positive.

 

[siralgenon]

I don't know what others are thinking but personally I'd like to see a mix of a Universal Studios style park and Epic Universe

 

[xtpower]

The concept art is legit.

From: https://x.com/AttractionSc/status/1909734764082266299

Jack SIlkstone has posted a clip of the aforementioned concept art.

From: https://x.com/J_Silkstone/status/1909735946242699770

 

[LHN2024]

The concept art is legit.

From: https://x.com/AttractionSc/status/1909734764082266299

Jack SIlkstone has posted a clip of the aforementioned concept art.

From: https://x.com/J_Silkstone/status/1909735946242699770

Do we know who it is who’s showing Keir Starmer the concept art?

 

[benpicko]

Three coasters visible in the concept art then:

Terrible image on the last one as it’s a grab from the stream.

 

[Craig]

With the announcement that Universal are progressing with their new UK resort, we’re taking the opportunity to split discussion into a number of separate topics. This will allow discussion to flow much more freely, and allow members to choose to follow and participate in discussion that interests them.

With the resort still in the early planning stages we don’t want to dilute discussion too much and risk things becoming too fragmented, so we’re only starting with a few topics. As things progress and more information gets confirmed, we’ll look to splitting discussion off further.

For this reason, we ask all members to not create new Universal GB topics themselves and allow the team to create them. If you have a suggestion for a new topic, please drop a member of the team a message, but also consider whether it’s required at this time. The prior Universal topics will be split between a pre announcement and post announcement topic, and will remain locked for people to refer to.

Archived Pre Announcement Discussion
Archived Post Announcement Discussion

For the time being, the new topics consist of:

[ Universal GB] Project Timeline (Coming soon)​

This will list the major steps taken in the project so far. This won’t go into every single detail of the resort’s progress, but will highlight significant events/milestones along the way.

[ Universal GB] General Discussion​

For general discussion, news and updates about the resort. It’s also the place for speculation and discussion about potential IPs, areas, rides and attractions.

[ Universal GB] Planning, Transport and Infrastructure​

Want to get geeky? This is the place for detailed discussion on the planning process along with discussion on the many road, rail and infrastructure changes that need to take place to allow the resort to open.

[ Universal GB] Impact on the UK Market​

The planned resort is a seismic change to the UK’s theme park industry which we have never seen before. Discuss the impact to the wider UK leisure industry here.