- Dec 28, 2023
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That is really awesome news.
I feel like the civil servants really do such important hard work as they are not technically aligned to government party politics. In a change of power they keep the country running right?
Universal Great Britain
- Thread starter AlexanderMBush
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That is really awesome news.
I feel like the civil servants really do such important hard work as they are not technically aligned to government party politics. In a change of power they keep the country running right?
- Dec 28, 2023
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So if we are during an election, what are they doing talking about plans? Apologies, just trying to ascertain if this is good news or not.
I had assumed (foolhardily) that both parties who met universal would have set out a plan for furthering the project, and that the civil servants are doing exactly that now during this election, and will continue to do so after all the faff, so we can get excited?
Sorry if I’m wrong.
Could have just been a chance for key staff to make contact in advance of work which will be done when the new Ministerial team is in place and the new government has decided what its policy is with regard to Universal's proposal. I'd guess they would have wanted to discuss a series of "what ifs", procedures for things like consulting on Universal's application and environmental statement, that kind of thing. I have no inside knowledge of this, but I'd be amazed if any Labour Party representative had expressed anything more than a general welcome of the potential investment, they certainly won't have committed to any particular plan not least because they are not allowed to instruct the Civil Service on anything they might wish to do if they form the next government. Also the Ministerial team(s) that may be responsible for approving the way forward and determining the outcome of the planning application won't yet be known, perhaps even by Keir Starmer in respect of the junior ministers in the two relevant departments (which themselves might change after the election).
If you want to get in to the detail of this, you can see the General Election2024 Guidance for the Civil Service. Note in particular Section J1, which prohibits a new public consultation being launched during the election period. From what I can see, this is the essential next step in the planning process and without that consultation taking place approval for Universal's plans can't be given. But it's worth remembering, the election period is only 6 weeks (although it's beginning to feel a lot longer than that!), so we don't have to be patient for very long as a result of an election being called a bit earlier than most expected.
- Dec 28, 2023
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Thanks again Rob.
I appreciate these posts could seem political, but this information is actually very useful in managing expectations in understanding how things will progress in the coming months, in terms of announcements and so on.
Great investigative skills, much appreciated.
Sharing this with a healthy fistful of salt until I hear of any kind of source for this, but figured I would share it here in the meantime.
I agree that we should be cautious about internet rumours, but it definitely fits with all the little clues that we've been able to cobble together regarding the timetable. Comcast take a go-decision in June, John McReynolds is smart enough to avoid getting tangled in the UK's general election, senior officials from Bedford Council and the Department for Culture continue to have informal meetings during purdah,Bedford Council expecting to make a consultation response in July and then a public announcement is made as soon as the election is over to continue with Universal's timetable for submitting an application.
The only problem is I'm teaching on the 8th July and it's going to be awkward having to check my phone throughout the day to look for the news...
This makes sense, I mean if they decided in June they would have the paperwork ready to go but UK can't do anything until after the 4th. The 8th makes sense. But then again I know nothing about UK politics, but sounds like the June decision may have been a go. Especially since work is still being done on the land. You would think if it was a no, work would have stopped.
As you say, there's lots of little indications that work on the project is continuing, including what has been flagged up in this thread in the last couple of months. So plenty of evidence that Comcast has not decided to scrap the project, and that their work on assuring themselves that their choice of site is viable while they continue to assemble a planning application. Of course, that doesn't mean that they are guaranteed to say "yes" when Comcast are asked to approve formally the decision to go ahead, but all the signs seem to suggest they are going to proceed to the next major milestones of deciding to build and then submitting a planning application.
- Feb 19, 2024
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Just passed the site and there is a professional film crew filming something right now on the northern parcel! Surely something to do with an announcement?
- Jan 2, 2024
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Discord - Group Chat That’s All Fun & Games
Discord is great for playing games and chilling with friends, or even building a worldwide community. Customize your own space to talk, play, and hang out.
EDIT: I think this is the correct link Join the DIScord Discord Server!
Join the DIScord Discord Server!
A friendly Disney Community on Discord! - A DIS-Cord you might say ;)Parks, Movies, Retail, Experiences - drop in! | 604 members
Last edited:
The channel should have some sort of welcome tab with an invite link. That's how most do it.
I think this is the link. Apologies if it’s not correct.
discord.gg
Join the DIScord Discord Server!
A friendly Disney Community on Discord! - A DIS-Cord you might say ;)Parks, Movies, Retail, Experiences - drop in! | 604 members
I think this is the link. Apologies if it’s not correct.
Join the DIScord Discord Server!
A friendly Disney Community on Discord! - A DIS-Cord you might say ;)Parks, Movies, Retail, Experiences - drop in! | 603 members
That's the one, worked fine for me. Thanks.
- Dec 28, 2023
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Which part do you know?
I sent a friend who lives locally down to Manor Road but they said as of 6:05pm there’s no one there, but they can confirm it’s a very lovely sunny evening currently 28° and feels like 29°. It’s a scorcher again!
