In 1990 construction was well under way for what would become known as Universal Studios Florida.
A place you could go and ride the movies, full of attractions and shows.
However, another Universal Studios theme park was planned
and even given approval from the Government. This would be...Universal Studios London
“The final decision on whether a movie theme park like florida’s is built in Britain
will be made by Universal in June.”
The UK has a long history of planning Theme Parks, hyping them up and then they never happen and
while there are so many different examples of this, today we are going to look at just one.
In November 1988 MCA, the parent company of Universal, privately raised a proposal
for Universal Studios London. On December 4th 1989 they submitted a planning application to
Havering Borough Council, to develop a 640 hectare site into a self contained entertainment city, by
February 1990 just a few months before Universal Studios Florida opened, the plans were approved.
However MCA were deciding between two different sites for the European Universal Studios.
“Two giant entertainment companies, one american and one british, have teamed up with plans to
build a massive, 1 billion pound theme park here. The idea is to transform these marshes
at Rainham in Essex just outside London to what’s been called, Universal City”.
The British government had put together a package of financial incentives for MCA
inc that it hoped would persuade the company to build it’s 3.4 billion dollar theme park
and film studio in London, rather than the other competing site just outside of Paris.
Newspapers reported that Prime Minister Margeret Thatcher had become personally involved in the
effort to snag the european version of Universal Studios. Martin Patterson of the Department of
Trade and Industry said that the government is keen to see this project come to the UK.
They were working to see how and where they would be able to assist.
“But what are the chances of something like this being set up in Rainham? Universal is
still trying to choose between Rainham Marshes and another site near Paris for their european park.
Even though the council here has just given permission for building to go ahead,
the site at Rainham does have its disadvantages.”
The top location being looked at would be a
1600 acre site near east London called the Rainham Marshes.
Rainham Marshes is a large area located in Essex directly east of London adjacent to
the River Thames. The majority of the site had been previously owned by the Ministry of Defence,
who had used it as a test firing range the area was used in both world wars
and was recently acquired by the local government.
As the name suggests the area is largely marshland
that would need to be drastically altered before construction could begin on a major Theme Park.
“Orlando in Florida, USA, home to be of King Kong. He’s part of a new movie theme park
opening there very soon. It’s being built by Universal, the company planning to come
to Rainham. So I went along to look at what Britain could be getting.”
One of the benefits the government was looking to help with would be cleaning up the area.
The land was home to a landfill site along with a car crushing area. Part
of the planned deal for the purchase would be that Universal would use only half of the site,
along with buying a further 15 thousand acres nearby so that wildlife could
continue to thrive in the area. The marshes had been declared a site of special interest.
The British Government would also be looking into tax breaks and guarantees on construction
of roads and Infrastructure to get to the resort. British Rail said that it would
bolster the links between central London and Rainham to allow for easier access.
The British Government also made a huge concession to help bring the resort to the UK.
In Early 1990, the environment secretary,
Chris Patten opted to forgo the public inquiry usually required for this kind of process which
would normally open up the project to a public and lengthy debate. Universal had made it clear
they would take its park to Paris rather than wait through the one to two year public inquiry.
Universal Studios London however, was fiercely opposed by Conservationists. A group called the
Friends of the Earth announced that radioactive waste had been buried on the site in the landfill
area to try and halt proceedings. MCA and the Government dismissed the claims as alarmist,
saying radioactivity levels were too low to qualify as active waste. They did however
say they would do a further investigation into the matter but nothing came from it.
“Though Universal have promised to spare half the site, and to buy 15,000 acres nearby for Wildlife,
Conservationists like Ivan Neviko, from the RSPB are still not happy.
We have to make sure that science with special scientific interest are recognised for their
national wildlife importance, we have a duty to protect them and the wildlife that needs
them. And if we let this one go because the cheque is big enough, then all the others
are under threat. And that is really why we have to fight it very very strongly.”
The borough of Havering, the local government overseeing Rainham Marshes,
had already approved MCA’s plans for the area. The plans would be a similar scope to what would
be coming to Orlando in 1990 but even larger. A large working film and television studios
that the BBC had hoped it could use along with Universal to create shows and films.
“I asked Tony Young from Universal, what sort of programs?
Well we are not definitive yet but I would hope that some of the more popular dramatic
series like Eastenders, or and um some of the BBC’s um wonderful children's programming,
Blue Peter, Grange Hill and also variety. Maybe Top of the Pops.”
There would be a multiplex cinema, multiple hotels, a conference center, a business park
and a brand new railway station that would be part of the project. The highlight though
was of course going to be the Universal Studios Tour Theme Park.
“This is Hollywood Boulevard or at least Florida’s mock up of it,
they are opening here just two months but already you can feel the magic of the movies.
And you can travel from one coast of America to another, Just like that. From waterfront New York,
to downtown New York.”
Yeah this guy literally used his teleporting magic to move about 2 feet to the left.
“This is San Francisco”
The Theme Park would bring many of the classics coming to Universal Studios Florida to the UK.
Spielberg would once again be heavily involved in its creation
and likely bring the classic upcoming attractions to this park. Jaws The Ride, Back to the Future,
ET and who knows what else, could have their very own UK versions.
Expected to be a huge boost to the economy,
it was envisioned with thousands of new jobs, create a major tourist increase
across the country along with a boost to the British film and Television industry.
With no language barrier and an interested BBC, London was definitely the number one contender
for the chosen pick over the Paris site. Though when asked Tony Young President of MCA Enterprises
International stated that both the British and French sites were looking pretty good.
“Phowe. All in one piece again. I’ve got to admit I was a little bit worried there.”
Unlike the British site, the French location was ready to be developed immediately. If everything
was set to go full steam ahead Universal were looking to get the park open in France by 1994
but if they chose the England site that would likely force them to have a 1995 opening. In
London the first phase would be the draining and compaction of the 350 acres of silt beds
on the site. The top layer of which would be used as capping material for the 250 acres of
landfill that would be turned into a nature park. Oh one other small benefits of the UK site would
also be that it would not directly compete with Euro Disney. Even though it kinda still would.
Both countries were dangling incentives
worth millions of dollars to be chosen for the next Universal Studios.
By Mid July 1990 a decision was looming on whether Universal City would be built at Rainham Marshes
or near Paris. The total expected job count, after construction, would be around 20,000
workers along with bringing a huge boost to the economy, hoping to attract 5 million visitors a
year, so that kind of tourism impact could not be understated. And the British Government knew this.
Just like the UK however, The french government was pulling out all the stops to attract MCA.
The French Prime Minister invited MCA President
Sid Sheinberg for talks with finance and transport ministers, they offered a 625
acre site to the south east of Paris, around a 40 minute drive to Euro Disney.
The deciding factor for the UK though wouldn’t be the government incentives or economy boost.
It would be the Nature.
“If you did decide to build here at Rainham, when do you think it’ll all happen?
Work would begin probably at the beginning of next year and I would hope to open in 1994.”
Conservationists of the Rainham Marshes primary concern, was to ensure the environmental impact
of the development would receive full scrutiny through the rigours of the public enquiry,
and by making sure this happens, force universal to choose the second site in Paris
due to the increase of time required and extra cost.
This resulted in a fierce battle over the use of the site. The Marshlands had over 170 different
species living in it and some of them needed to be protected, including hen harriers and short eared
owls. While the Government insisted the economical boost would out way the environmental issues, the
Wildlife Trust and its members worked to overthrow the decision to not have a public inquiry.
MCA would continue to stress the importance of their views on conservation.
They stated the fact they managed Yosemite National Park in the US since the 1930s and
had won awards for their incredible work there, proving they knew how to manage nature. Though
this was later provided false as MCA’ only operated the visitor services,
the management of the actual nature and wilderness area was done by the US National Parks.
However this confident approach worked and MCA and the Chief Executive of British Urban
Development stated together they would turn a derelict landscape into a thriving community.
MCA’s promise that a nature park would be created out of the landfill site costing them 16 million
pound would be seen for many as a great start. This would be one of the largest sums of money to
be dedicated to nature conservation by a private company. It was by this statement the government
was convinced to skip the public discussions. For many though at MCA this addition of 16 million for
conservation was seen as an unneeded expense. An Expense that could be avoided elsewhere.
While the UK MCA Proposal would cost billions of pounds, this amount was already quite higher than
the second site in paris due to the amount of infrastructure and land work that was required.
“Children at Chafford school in Rainham had mixed opinions about the theme park coming.
A good thing is we can have more things in Rainham to do ‘cos we aint got nothing here. And the other
bad thing is that all the wildlife will go and it will make Rainham really busy. If they do build
it and go ahead with it, its going to smarten up Rainham because they are going to have to
tidy up the place, to attract some people to come. It’ll be something for like the youngsters to
do,but in the end like the novelty and that stuff is going to wear off init. I think its a good idea
because they are going to clear all the rubbish up thats on the marshes. Anyways so otherwise they
would just leave it. It’s not only be going to give kids alotta fun its going to be ugh
giving jobs to parents and adults. The final decision on whether a movie theme
park like Florida’s is built in Britain will be made by Universal in June.”
Along with all of this and the poor performance after the opening of Universal Studios
Orlando theme park, the fierce opposition to the project and the deteriorating economic climate
in Europe the project was put on hold and the London site was deemed a no go. The chance of a
Universal Studios London was scrapped. Even after it was approved. All eyes then turned to the Paris
site and hopes continued into 1993 trying to conclude the deal by the end of the year.
When asked why the British site was unfeasible, the president of MCA said the government wasn't
able to do enough fiscally to make the project interesting. The french however were very good
at supporting projects. They hoped that a french Universal Studios Europe would open
by late 1996. The same year, Euro Disney was planning to open its own studio attraction,
once again for the second time putting competing studio theme parks directly head to head.
One of the major questions was would the plans be to build an American style studio,
since Euro Disney had been suffering from bringing American Culture into France for years.
When asked they told Wall Street Journal that the company would consider drawing heavily on
French Cinema if the park is built. As for the question for the possibility
of both Disneys Studio Park and Universal Studios Europe being overkill for tourists,
they responded with - well it worked in Orlando.
In 1996 concept plans were drawn up for a potential Universal Park.
Called Universal’s HollywoodLand. The proposed park would feature Television Land,
home to a hercules roller coaster, a Jurassic Park river rapids,
New York complete with Giant King Kong climbing the empire state building,
Amity Boardwalk and Jaws, A back to the Future Roller coaster in movieland and a cartoon land.
Once again the decision was taken to not go ahead with Universal Studios Europe,
Universal would enter the European Theme Park Market, not with a ground up Universal Studios
but when it purchased Tussauds Interest in PortaAventura in Spain
in 1998. Take a look at our Expedition for more details on that one though.
Europe has nearly been home to a Universal Studios theme park throughout the years
multiple times, throughout the UK’s history there have been tons of proposed and planned Theme Parks
that have not happened. Whether due to money, opposition or just a change of circumstances.
I can’t help feeling slightly sad though for what could have been with Universal Studios London. A
place that could have become a hub for tourism in the UK and a major theme park that London
desperately needs. A place that one day could have seen a Wizarding World at the home of Harry Potter
along with even perhaps maybe a Jaws ride that was still operating outside of Japan. I wish.
Today the Rainham Marshes are still a haven for all kinds of wildlife.
A nature reserve east of London that opened to the public in 2006. A place that the Eurostar
train flies past as it takes families and tourists directly to Disneyland Paris.
It is hard to look at the hype for this park, the approval
and promises of what could have been without thinking towards a repeat
of this happening today. For now though we all just have to sit back and hope for a better
outcome that London will finally get the Theme Park and entertainment center that it deserves.
Thank you so much for watching this episode of Expedition Extinct.
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“This is Amity island and this is where visitors will come for a pleasant little boat ride.
With a few surprises from a big fish.”