I'm sure that's correct, although the government has already taken the step of stating (actually, allowing Universal to state) that they will consider a Special Development Order to give approval for construction instead of the local authority processing a planning application in the usual way. From what I can see this is unprecedented for a commercial project of this kind. We know from the local mayor, Tom Wootton, that the government set up a (cross-departmental) task force to respond to Universal's interest within just a few days of being made aware of the proposed development. To me, that seems incredibly speedy for a government response, and it's been stated that ministers from three different departments, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, have been briefed on the proposal. I think we can say with great confidence that government has responded in the most positive way possible to Universal's overtures.
But before we get carried away we should remember that the politics of this could change very rapidly. Indeed, there are some rumours that the Prime Minister might tomorrow announce a general election, which would mean the dissolution of parliament within a week or so and the ministers who had previously been supportive of Universal's proposal all stepping back from their departmental responsibilities and switching to campaign mode. This is probably unlikely, but we'll definitely have a general election this year and as soon as it is called any work that the government is doing on the Universal proposal would quickly grind to a halt until the next government is in place. Universal are pretty smart about this, so have already been in contact with the Labour Party, including a meeting with Keir Starmer. I'd guess there would be an equally warm welcome from a Labour government, but it's another point at which there is a risk to the project.
