Universal Great Britain

[bedfordmassive]

The main thing is universals decision. We can't go any further until they decide.

I think this is oversimplified- it’s now a negotiation around planning and funding.

 

[ProjectUniversalUK]

Nothing really to tell except the strange markings that have appeared.

 

[Lost Meerkat]

Nothing really to tell except the strange markings that have appeared.

Those markings are strange and I cannot see them on previous videos or on Google Maps. They are too geometric to be random. I have no idea, my son said they look like the outline of a proposed temporary building site but I am not so sure. A bit off the wall, but, if/when this goes ahead, could they be putting some logo or something there so advertise the development, knowing full well it will end up all over YouTube? I genuinely have no idea and would be interested to hear other views.

 

[xtpower]

Lisa Nandy the SoS for Culture, Media and Sport got back to Councillor Yasin.

 

[rob@rar]

As I thought, a vaguely positive but entirely non-committal response. We know that DCMS officials are continuing with the negotiation process (I think this is being led by Sam Lister, one of the DCMS Director Generals, so a very senior official, just one step down from the Permanent Secretary). We think that agreement is close, so hopefully when Lisa Nandy and Chris Bryant meet with Universal it will be to finalise this current stage of the process. Perhaps this will take place in August, but I’d guess September is more likely. This would tie in with what Bedford Council have timetabled for their response to a statutory consultation which must take place before the Special Development Order can be agreed.

 

[havaska]

Somewhat related but there’s a Jurassic World Exhibition opening at the Trafford Centre in Manchester tomorrow.

Jurassic World: The Exhibition - Manchester

For those that don’t know, the Trafford Centre is a large shopping mall complex with other nearby activities like a ski slope and indoor sky diving, plus a large water park about to start construction (Therme Manchester).

 

[extrobeiuf]

Somewhat related but there’s a Jurassic World Exhibition opening at the Trafford Centre in Manchester tomorrow.

Jurassic World: The Exhibition - Manchester

For those that don’t know, the Trafford Centre is a large shopping mall complex with other nearby activities like a ski slope and indoor sky diving, plus a large water park about to start construction (Therme Manchester).

I did this in Sydney last year with my son.

if you can get a half-price ticket, and go on a quiet day, it's a great day out. If I'd paid full price, and been hoarded through with a crowd, I'd have been disappointed.

 

[rob@rar]

As reported by @ProjectUniversalUK on his Facebook page, selling price data for the houses on Manor Road that Universal bought has now started to appear (on Zoopla). Universal definitely paying well above the market rate. One house has doubled in price in less than three years (Annex, 1 Eastwood Cottages was bought for £165K in December 2021 and Universal bought it for £333K in March of this year). Looks like they are very keen to acquire the property located in the very middle of their site.

 

[Lost Meerkat]

As reported by @ProjectUniversalUK on his Facebook page, selling price data for the houses on Manor Road that Universal bought has now started to appear (on Zoopla). Universal definitely paying well above the market rate. One house has doubled in price in less than three years (Annex, 1 Eastwood Cottages was bought for £165K in December 2021 and Universal bought it for £333K in March of this year). Looks like they are very keen to acquire the property located in the very middle of their site.

@ProjectUniversalUK @rob@rar Interesting. The land registry site is not showing number 1 as sold, and is showing numbers 2 and 3. Zoopla is showing number 1 and 2 and not number 3. So it looks like 1, 2 and 3 may all have been sold. With the thought in mind that none of the sources appear to be showing the full picture, I wonder if any more have sold. Being a row of terraced housing, it would be better to buy the whole terrace.

 

[rob@rar]

@ProjectUniversalUK @rob@rar Interesting. The land registry site is not showing number 1 as sold, and is showing numbers 2 and 3. Zoopla is showing number 1 and 2 and not number 3. So it looks like 1, 2 and 3 may all have been sold. With the thought in mind that none of the sources appear to be showing the full picture, I wonder if any more have sold. Being a row of terraced housing, it would be better to buy the whole terrace.

I did briefly see a video on YouTube recently from a guy who had visited that row of houses and found that a number of them were empty already (sorry, I forget which YouTube channel it was, it just appeared in my timeline). The Land Registry (and websites like Zoopla) can take three or four months to update after the sale of houses has been finalised, so Universal may have already bought more of the houses than the Land Registry is reporting. As you say, it makes sense to buy all of them, if they can.

 

[rob@rar]

Bedford Council has today updated the National Planning Inspectorate on the ongoing development of their local economic plans, stating that the Universal project is still subject to meetings between the Council’s staff and government officials, but the election has slowed the process in the last couple of months. As we already assumed this to be the case there’s no new info:

Conversations and face to face meetings between the Council’s staff and
representatives from MHCLG have continued this month. With the election of a new government in early July, we have entered a period where new ministers and their team are being briefed on the project. As a result, no precise date has yet been given for a final decision by Universal, but this is still expected to be taken before the end of 2024.

Indirectly related to the Universal project, Bedford told the Planning Inspectorate

Following the identification of potential options for improvements at M1 junction 13 and the two A421 / A6 junctions to the southwest of Bedford, attention is now focusing on the junctions of the A421 with the A600, A603 and A4280.

Good news if they are going to sort out J13, that has the potential to get much worse with traffic leaving the park.