Surprised at this use of government funding when we're supposedly so in debt.

[kwikfitt]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn8p3zjx7pzo

If they'd built the piece up to Crewe where they planned to put it, the land is that unstable, it would have been one!

I do agree with this to an extent. People comparing it to Florida - it’s going to be nowhere near as good, let’s be honest. Tourists go to Florida as there are multiple parks there (something for everyone) plus the weather! I very much doubt you will have people coming to the uk just to visit universal studios. It will be like the Harry Potter studio tour - something tourists might add to their list while they’re here on an excursion from London, but not necessarily a draw in itself.

I think the profits it’s going to bring (after the first 5-10 years especially) have been vastly overestimated. And agree with pp about the upkeep and travel infrastructure - I would be very surprised if the roads won’t be severely affected in the area.

Exactly - you have to speculate to accumulate. This project will create jobs and income and spending power.

This government needs to get on and spend more on public and infrastructure projects to regenerate jobs and spending power.

The short termism is utterly ridiculous - Starmer has been in power for the blink of an eye and the media are piling in on him for not doing enough and are setting up ridiculous expectations in the public who want it all NOW! - and so the seesaw of leaders/governments continues and nobody gets anything done. It is pitiful.

Everyone saying “it’ll create jobs”.

The construction jobs will not all be at the same time and will, by their nature, be temporary. I also think 20k is a lot - I’m wondering where that figure has come from. Could it be based on e.g. 500 painters only brought in for two months at the end?

Of the longer term jobs when the park opens, the vast majority will be minimum wage with little in the way of development opportunities. Probably zero hours contracts dependent on season and footfall. I also think the 8000 number is grotesquely inflated considering the actual number of staff they have across the half dozen universal parks and dozen hotels in Florida.

I’m assuming a sizeable tax break has been offered.

Plenty of rides at Universal in Florida are indoors .. they use a lot of 3D (which I very much enjoyed). They will 100% be ready for the weather.
I imagine they will be looking to attract European Tourists - so fingers crossed EU Reset sorts out any border / visa issues, to make this easier.

When it comes to jobs thete will be a whole range, both within the parks, but also locally and regionally. Yes you will need people to work in kiosks, but you will also need people working in HR, Management, Finance, Logistics etc.

Of course, London. Where you ship out all of the poor to other counties, taking up our land and housing because they outbid our own councils. The rest of the country has huge infrastructure issues and our councils are verging, if not already, on bankruptcy. We don't have the protections of the EU any more in the poorer areas and it shows.

@thirdpartygobetween we seem to even struggle with providing decent toilets, adequate parking, even though we are building them from new. Once you travel with a disabled people/a disability you realise how shit most places and UK airports are. We are really surprised when the disabled toilet is well designed, like by Chester's river cruise, old building, but great toilets.
We need jobs, we need people spending money and we needed accountability from the Tory party on what they had done to our country/services.

Have to invest to grow, it will bring far more back in taxes in the long term than the money invested

London, where people move to and have done for decades, centuries, taking up our land and housing.

I would have sympathy for the poor areas who no longer have EU funding but of course they overwhelmingly voted for Brexit. Turkeys voting for Christmas.

It’s a great idea. The government actually putting money into something that will create jobs, rather than a bloated state is excellent.

If you live in London and have no idea about water supplies in nearby Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury, Maidstone, Whitstable, Ashford, Headcorn, to name but a few in the South East area, you need to pull your head out of wherever you have stuck it. You haven't been paying attention if you think the South hasn't had water issues.

Oh dear. I live in one of those areas and we have had water issues. Perhaps dont be so hasty to make assumptions.

I was replying to Friday who said they lived in London and had no idea the south had any water issues. If you live in an area which has already got issues why are you so keen to have a water park and AI data centre on your doorstep?

I was simply answering the point which gets raised over and over again about how apparently Londoners are sending people/moving to other areas of the country and putting terrible pressure on those areas. What do you think has happened to London over the centuries and last 100 years, people moving from all corners of the UK to London, calling themselves 'Londoners' and putting pressure on resources and housing.

@likelysuspect if you think shipping out all of your poor is the answer then that is the problem. I guess you don't care as long as they are replaced by millionaires. Let's all think short term shall we?

I do marginally disagree with this. I'm going to Florida again this year and are just going for universal parks. (Although will enjoy a cheeky pool day!).

And Florida is an example of a place with lots of parks, but I've flown to Germany to just go to Phantasialand, but stayed an extra night in cologne and are off to Europa-park in summer just to do that one place. Lot of people will travel just for the parks and actually UUK will have the benefit of access to other areas for day trips or overnight in London etc.

I have no interest in going to Universal Studios but this is one of the best things to happen in the UK for years.
The jobs and money it will bring in is going to be huge.
Hopefully the Puy du Fou planned for near Bicester will go ahead as well.
We will have Universal and Warner Studios (aka Harry Potter World) practically next door to each other plus
Puy du Fou not that far away from the same area (which is near Bicester Village Shopping which is already very popular with tourists).
I personally believe it will bring in ££££££

Er what?

What has any of that bitter rant to do with the idiotic claim that the South has water supply issue?

As for London shipping out all the poor, you know that that’s not true, so why post it?

The South does not have water supply issues, London is not shipping out all the poor.

I have to ask, are you alright? You are posting rubbish, repeatedly, and dem to have a huge chip on your shoulder about people living in the capital. You are coming across as quite bigoted and uninformed.

Like a great many people, I moved to London from elsewhere.

Had. Past tense, a point I already addressed. It was an issue with a main that could have happened anywhere, it is idiotic to use that as a reason not to invest in a theme park.

Please remember when you rant about Londoners that it’s us paying your benefits.

@FridayOnMyMind Hundreds of thousands of people in the South of England have been affected by water supply disruptions and contamination incidents over the last two years. These issues range from prolonged boil-water notices and parasite outbreaks to dry taps caused by infrastructure failures, particularly affecting Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Devon. Your ignorance is showing. You may also want to look up gentrification of London.

Even if you use AI it will explain it to you in a simple way, as below:
The most significant localized events affecting residents and businesses include:
South East Water (Kent and Sussex): Over the 2025/2026 winter, approximately 24,000 to 69,000 properties (affecting over 300,000 individuals) experienced dry taps, low pressure, and subsequent boil-water notices. A previous crisis in the summer also left up to 18,000 properties without water. 1, 2, 3]
South West Water (Brixham and South Devon): In May 2024, a major Cryptosporidium parasite outbreak affected a population of almost 39,000 (about 16,000 to 17,000 households and businesses). The boil-water notice lasted for 54 days, leaving hundreds of people ill and resulting in a record £1.8m fine for the utility company. 1, 2, 3]
Thames Water (South-East London and Surrey): Between May 2024 and early 2025, various Thames Water incidents impacted thousands in the southern region. This included an (E. coli) warning in Brockley, South-East London and a severe fuel leak incident in Bramley, Surrey, which forced over 600 homes to endure "do not drink" notices. 1, 2]
Southern Water (Hampshire): In December 2024, a major supply interruption in Southampton and Marchwood left almost 130,000 people (60,000 households) without water for up to two days

I'm so glad you "pay for our benefits" out of the kindness of your heart. Please, do take away all of our water while you are at it and ask people to thank you.

Why on earth would you think I am on benefits!

We are not in debt. We are a soveriegn country with our own currency, we can print/create as much money as we like so can never go bankrupt.

That said, any money the government invests needs to be in return for for part ownership imho - I don’t know if that’s the case - as the money is repaid then government ownership could reduce.

London keeps the entire country going, its a fact

The poor have moved into London for decades, in fact centuries.

By setting up the other areas of the country with things that use their natural resources to the detriment of locals while the managers all live in a bubble or remote work from Dubai, great! I wonder why people feel they have to move to London? What a mystery.