RIDE ON
The English nature reserve which nearly had a huge £2.5billion Universal theme park in the 1990s – only to be scrapped
Plus, what you need to know about the Universal park set for the UK
UNIVERSAL nearly opened a theme park in the UK back in the 1990s.
Following confirmation that Universal's first Europe theme park will be based in the UK, it has emerged that the US entertainment giant had previously set its eyes on a UK park more than three decades ago.
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More than 35 years ago, Universal started negotiations with the British and French governments to build a 'Universal City' in the late 1980s.
The suggested site was Rainham Marshes, on the border of Essex and London.
At the time, the local council was quick to approve planning permission for the site.
The proposed area spanned more than three times the size of the site in Bedfordshire, which has just been confirmed for Universal's Europe park.
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Music Corporation of America (MCA) - Universal's predecessor - wanted to build a theme park, cinema, hotels, conference centre, business park and a railway station at the site.
The plans also included a nature reserve and ecology park and working film and TV studios - which at the time were rumoured to be the new home for BBC's soap opera EastEnders.
In total, if the park went ahead, it would have cost $3.4billion (£2.5billion), according to the Los Angeles Times and would have been larger than Universal Florida.
Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government was eager to secure the investment from MCA, which was deciding between Rainham and Sénart, a new town near Paris, France, for the new park.
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Politicians were so keen, that they even considered changing the blueprints for the Channel Tunnel, which opened later in 1994, to include a junction at Stratford in east London, to accommodate for easier access to the proposed theme park.
In addition, the government considered rerouting and adding an extra lane to the A13 trunk road, which passed Rainham Marshes.
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Of the local residents surveyed, about 69 per cent backed the proposals, however, environmental campaigners were less keen on the idea.
This included The Essex Naturalists Trust, who were concerned about the impact on species living in the marshland.
Despite this, Universal did promise if they were to go ahead with plans at Rainham Marshes, they would only use half the site, and purchase another 15,000 acres nearby for wildlife.
However, the site proposals experienced delays while opponents pushed the government to launch a public consultation on the plans, reports the BBC.
By 1993, MCA was then firmly set on creating the park in France, with plans to build a theme park based on its attractions in the US.
At the time, it chose a plot close to Disneyland Paris, which had only opened a year earlier.
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MCA president, Frank Stanek commented on the Rainham project that it "became unfeasible".
He added that Disney's new park in France did not have an impact on MCA's decision.
He told Variety at the time: "The British government wasn't able to do enough fiscally to make the project interesting.
"The French are very well organised in that field and are very good at supporting projects which involve new towns."
Eventually, MCA stopped planning a park in France and decided to invest in an already established theme park, giving the Universal name to Spain's PortAventura.
It later sold its stake in the Spanish park in 2004.
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Rainham Marshes is now a nature reserve managed by the RSPB, about 80 miles away from the site the Universal has recently confirmed as their new Europe theme park, designed and built from scratch.
A full planning proposal for the park will soon be submitted to the government, and construction is expected to start in 2026.
Universal has estimated that the complex could attract 8.5 million visitors in its first year, when it opens in 2031.
The park is planned for the site of a former brickworks in Bedfordshire, spanning 476 acres.
Read More on The Sun
Here is everything we know so far about Universal theme park planned for Bedfordshire.
Plus, why the park is bad news for Harry Potter fans.
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