Universal Great Britain

[yepthatguy]

Apologies if this has been posted.

It’s John McReynolds talking to a councillor.

 

[MangoDance]

Apologies if this has been posted.

Thanks for sharing, haven't seen this posted anywhere else!

"I may share a sneak peek as we progress, but not today"

Probably reading way too much into this, it may just mean 6 months before opening and well after we've figured it all out from construction photos anyway, but hearing this remark before construction makes me think they are planning on giving us something this year.

 

[EllieB]

I don't know lots about planning permission, but from what I've seen from other theme parks in the UK surely we'll get to see a lot of plans which are going to help us know exactly what to expect from a layout, whether they announce it or not?

 

[rob@rar]

I don't know lots about planning permission, but from what I've seen from other theme parks in the UK surely we'll get to see a lot of plans which are going to help us know exactly what to expect from a layout, whether they announce it or not?

In a normal planning permission application you are right, we'd expect to see plenty of detail of what is proposed in terms of building size, layout, etc. But nobody knows for sure what planning application process will be used for Universal's development, other than we know it's not going to be a normal planning application going through the local authority. It seems like Universal and the government are creating new procedures for this planning application, at least in terms of a large scale commercial development, and I don't think it is clear how much detail will be made public when the planning application is submitted, and what form the consultation might take on the proposal.

 

[Scott W.]

In a normal planning permission application you are right, we'd expect to see plenty of detail of what is proposed in terms of building size, layout, etc. But nobody knows for sure what planning application process will be used for Universal's development, other than we know it's not going to be a normal planning application going through the local authority. It seems like Universal and the government are creating new procedures for this planning application, at least in terms of a large scale commercial development, and I don't think it is clear how much detail will be made public when the planning application is submitted, and what form the consultation might take on the proposal.

I think you're right.

Universal got real secretive with their permits for Epic last year and I wouldn't be surprised if part of the deal with the government included some kind of secrecy for the planning permission.

 

[xtpower]

I expect we'll get a degree of transparency to avoid Universal and the Gov being sued because planning documents are hidden away. Even though they're looking to streamline the process, I don't expect they'll go full clandestine secrets level to avoid causing uproar and resentment by not allowing people access to the planning docs.

 

[EllieB]

It was always my understanding that there's some sort of legal right in the UK for people to be able to see planning permission / decision documents, but obviously that might not apply if the government agrees some sort of immunity for them. Hardly seems like that goes along with the "rule of law" British value that the government are supposed to champion though.

 

[masekwm]

I can't see that they can avoid publishing the relevant documents, there is literally two housing estates close to the site who will want to know what is going to be built near their homes, 0.2 & 0.3 miles away.

 

[tommyhawkins]

I believe that Alton Towers has ways and means to hide away what they are planning at times.

There is also the fact that if they go down a national infrastructure route, or just with new laws that are eventually coming that attach security considerations to soft target public major venues that they could hide plans behind the need for plans to not be in public domain to prevent would-be attackers find weaknesses. We saw similar things happen at the beginning with Epic, where certai plans that were released in good faith suddenly became a problem because of security considerations .

 

[yepthatguy]

I can't see that they can avoid publishing the relevant documents, there is literally two housing estates close to the site who will want to know what is going to be built near their homes, 0.2 & 0.3 miles away.

Just looking at a map of the area on google. I wonder which village is closest to the entrance on their plans…

When you look at the existing roads, although it’s on the other side of the A421 it might be Wootton. I think technically Kempston Hardwick is a hamlet rather than a village.

 

[yepthatguy]

I believe that Alton Towers has ways and means to hide away what they are planning at times.

There is also the fact that if they go down a national infrastructure route, or just with new laws that are eventually coming that attach security considerations to soft target public major venues that they could hide plans behind the need for plans to not be in public domain to prevent would-be attackers find weaknesses. We saw similar things happen at the beginning with Epic, where certai plans that were released in good faith suddenly became a problem because of security considerations .

I think you are right about the security concerns.

As crazy as it sounds, but Hare Coursing has been a problem before even for I think the Mayor himself’s own farm fields.

It’s organised crime gangs gambling on which dog will catch a Hare across a field. They drive round fields chasing the dogs chasing the Hare’s destroying crops and other stuff, then declare a winner, burn all the stolen cars out, then go home for supper.

It’s a bit of an old article, but if these sort of people turn up on someone’s land, they can be less than friendly if someone ask’s them to leave. It’d be the last thing universal would want or need. The press would be all over it.

I’m expecting top surveillance security around the entire perimeter when this starts. I mean it’s rural England, and … Bedford. All sorts goes on.

Shocking video prompts MP and countryside campaigners to call for action on hare coursing - Bedford Independent

North East Bedfordshire MP, Richard Fuller (Conservative) has joined rural campaigners to call for action after shocking footage emerged of…

www.bedfordindependent.co.uk

 

[rob@rar]

As Bedford Council's planning consultant made clear to one of the Council's oversight committees, the planning application and approval mechanism that Universal and the government were working towards seemed to involve developing new processes for consideration by the government, so any previous experience of consultation via traditional local authority processes or the national planning inspectorate might not be a guide as to what we can expect. Right now it's unclear what level of information will be revealed by Universal and the government. It might be fully described, or the information might be restricted to those directly involved in the process rather than more widely to any interested member of the public.

Perhaps in the next month or two we'll have a better idea of what th next stage in the planning application will involve. At the moment I don't think there will be a widespread public consultation. I think key interested parties such as Bedford Council will be invited to respond, perhaps under continued Non Disclosure Agreements, where they act on behalf of their constituents without actually consulting those constituents. Other statutory bodies will also be required to respond to the proposals, such as Natural England commenting on the environmental impact statement that will be a part of the planning application. This may or may not provide info that the public can see. When Universal first confirmed their intentions and said that the government had agreed to consider a Special Development Order for planning permission I contacted the then Secretary of State who would be responsible for granting planning permission (Michael Gove) to ask about consultations on the project. This was the reply. As you can see, public consultation didn't seem to be a part of the process that was envisaged back then.

 

[yepthatguy]

That’s really interesting Rob.

Do you think there will be any further public consultation at any point?

To be fair Universal have completed one very well already that covered a lot and received popular approval. Do they need another that could muddy the waters?

 

[rob@rar]

That’s really interesting Rob.

Do you think there will be any further public consultation at any point?

I have no inside info so I’m just guessing, but I don’t think there will be a public consultation. Right from the first confirmation of Universal’s interest there has seemed to be an agreement with national government that the planning process for this project would be different from the usual. I think the nearby councils are going to be consulted, statutory bodies and government agencies will be consulted, but members of the public who live locally won’t have a direct route to comment on the proposals. Similarly, I don’t think there will be an obvious route to appeal the planning decision that members of the public could trigger.

We know that the previous government and the current government both considered that the best option for planning approval would be via a Special Development Order, and I see no evidence that there has been a change from that intention. There is no statutory requirement in a SDO for public consultation, as the legislation was designed to bypass any local concerns and ensure a speedy decision. I’m not sure how much detail will be made available publicly, and I wouldn’t be surprised if those bodies which are being consulted do so on the basis that detailed plans remain confidential at this stage of the process.