The Town and Country Planning (Entertainment Resort Complex, Bedford) Special Development (No. 2) Order 2025

2 Interpretation

(1) In this Order— “the access and roadways plan” means reference document 5 (parameter plan – access and roadways); “active travel route” means a route for people walking, wheeling or cycling; “affiliate”, in relation to an undertaking, means an undertaking that— is one of its group undertakings, as defined in section 1161(5) of the Companies Act 2006, or would be one of its group undertakings as so defined but for the fact that shares owned by an undertaking are registered in the name of— a nominee or other person acting on behalf of that undertaking, or another person by way of security over those shares, or is one of its associates, as defined in section 435 of the Insolvency Act 1986; “AGL” means above ground level, and in references to the height of a work refers to its height as measured from— the level of the surface of the ground adjoining it; if the level of the surface of the ground where it is situated or proposed to be situated is not uniform, the level of the highest part of the surface of the ground adjoining it; “AOD” means above ordnance datum, and in references to the height of a work, means its height as measured from Ordnance Datum Newlyn; “archaeological work” means— surveys to identify items of archaeological interest in, on, under or over the Order land; investigation, excavation and preservation of items identified by such surveys, to the extent that such activities take place in, on, under or over the Order land; removal of such items from the Order land; “attraction overlay” means any element of a work that— is not designed to be accessible to, or accessed by, visitors, except in so far as they are conveyed through or by it during the operation of a ride or other attraction, serves— a purpose that is wholly decorative, such as is served by towers, spires, monuments, flagpoles, domes, cupolas or other forms of ornamentation on buildings, or a functional purpose, such as is served by— cornices, eaves, gutters or skylights, plant and equipment such as cranes mounted on a building or structure, equipment required to operate or maintain a building or structure, such as fire or parapet walls, roof structures for housing lifts, stairways, tanks, ventilating fans, or solar panels, or tracks or other structural components integral to the entertainment purpose of an amusement ride, and does not provide accommodation or other habitable space for any person, except to accommodate or shelter construction workers as they carry out construction work; “authorised development” means development for which planning permission is granted under article 4 (grant of planning permission); “authorised work” means any work that results, or will result, from authorised development; “body of surface water” has the meaning given in paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 1 to the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017; “camp site” means an area equipped— to accommodate tents, caravans and mobile homes; with washing and other facilities for people staying in tents, caravans and mobile homes; “charge point” has the meaning given in section 9(1)(a) of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018; “class” has the meaning given in paragraph (4); “construction work” means, unless otherwise indicated, any of the following categories of activity, carried out in, on, under or over land, whether on a temporary or permanent, one-off or repeated basis— the carrying out of any of the activities listed in sub-paragraph (i) in relation to any of the things listed in sub-paragraph (ii)— erection, construction, delivery, installation, placing, laying down, provision, diversion, relocation, connection, disconnection, reconnection, protection, extension, expansion, inspection, maintenance, repair, reconstruction, refurbishment, replacement, reinstatement, improvement, adjustment, alteration, realignment, decommissioning, clearance, demolition or removal; the whole, or part of, a building, structure, services, plant, equipment, machinery, sewer, main, drain, pipe, conduit, cable, pump, lighting, fencing or other boundary treatment, apparatus or infrastructure or other work; excavation, including horizontal directional drilling, but excluding mining operations; soil and spoil storage and removal; preliminary work; remediation work; earthworks, including— mass grading and other activities carried out to raise, lower or otherwise alter the topography or shape the surface of the Order land; construction of bunds, embankments, retaining structures or other works to stabilise or make secure land, or buildings or structures in, on under or over land; laying down of construction access roads and tracks, ramps, means of access, footpaths, or crossings of watercourses or roads; provision of noise attenuation measures; provision of works in relation to water, including in relation to— water quality; water supply, including irrigation; watercourses and other bodies of surface water; foul water and surface water management, including drainage systems and other drainage infrastructure, attenuation, culverting and outfalls; preparation and storage of concrete and other materials for use in construction; provision of— cement, rock, limestone and brick crushing and grinding facilities; vehicle parking and staging areas; site security and access control measures, including turnstile structures, gates and other ancillary infrastructure; waste storage, recycling and refuse collection facilities; “construction worker” means an individual carrying out or managing construction work in relation to authorised works; “construction worker accommodation” means a building or structure on the Order land that is constructed or installed for construction workers to stay in on a temporary basis while they are spending time away from their usual residence to carry out authorised development; “controlling document” means a submission document— which the Secretary of State has endorsed under article 6 (endorsement of submission documents), and which has effect, pursuant to a notice given under article 6(4), as described in article 6(5); “the Core Zone” means the area shaded pink on the zonal plan; “detailed design” means a document setting out proposals in relation to a particular work in relation to which it is proposed to carry out authorised development; “drainage system” has the meaning given in paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 (sustainable drainage) to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010; “dwelling” means a building comprising— a house that provides the facilities required for day-to-day private domestic existence, or one or more flats, each of which provides such facilities; “the East Gateway Zone” means the area shaded green on the zonal plan; “the EIA Regulations” means the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017; “endorse” means to give endorsement in respect of a document, modification, or information; “endorsement” means— in relation to a submission document, the Secretary of State’s— approval of that document, if it was submitted for approval, or validation of that document, if it was submitted for validation, under a Schedule 3 condition or endorsement condition; in relation to a modification of a controlling document, the Secretary of State’s— approval of that modification, where the submission document that became that controlling document was submitted for approval, or validation of that modification, where the submission document that became that controlling document was submitted for validation, under a Schedule 3 condition or endorsement condition; in relation to a modification of a reference document, the Secretary of State’s approval of that modification; in relation to any document or information required to be submitted for approval or validation by the Secretary of State, pursuant to— a controlling document or reference document, or an endorsement condition, the Secretary of State’s approval or validation of that document or information, as the case may be; “endorsement condition” means a condition or limitation subject to which the Secretary of State gives an endorsement; “entertainment resort complex” means a theme park and associated facilities and infrastructure that are designed, and constructed so as to provide, as a whole, an immersive entertainment and leisure experience and self-contained holiday destination; “environmental pollution” has the meaning given in section 1(2) of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999; “the Environmental Statement” means the documents specified in paragraphs 3.3 to 3.6 of reference document 18 (guide to the planning proposal), as they were submitted to the Secretary of State on 26th June 2025 and published by the Secretary of State on 3rd July 2025, disregarding the effect of any subsequent modification of any such document under article 7 (modification of reference documents, controlling documents and endorsement conditions); “the ERC” means the entertainment resort complex, comprising authorised works, that is developed, or proposed to be developed, in, on, under or over the ERC area; “the ERC area” means that part of the Order land comprising— the land shaded pink on the ERC plan, and the land comprised in each ERC expansion area; “ERC expansion area” means any of ERC expansion area A, ERC expansion area B, ERC expansion area C, and ERC expansion area D; “ERC expansion area A” means the land shaded blue on the ERC plan; “ERC expansion area B” means the land shaded orange on the ERC plan; “ERC expansion area C” means the land shaded green on the ERC plan; “ERC expansion area D” means the land shaded purple on the ERC plan; “the ERC plan” means reference document 4 (parameter plan – entertainment resort complex land use plan); “European site” has the meaning given in regulation 8 of the Habitats Regulations; “existing” means, except as provided otherwise, in relation to the whole or part of any— work, or tree or other vegetation, in relation to which authorised development is carried out or is proposed to be carried out, that it exists on the Order land at the date on which the first material operation comprised in that authorised development begins; “functionally associated” has the meaning given in article 4(4) (grant of planning permission); “gas” has the meaning given in section 48(1) of the Gas Act 1986; “grade separated crossing” means a configuration of structures or other works where one transport route, such as a road or railway, crosses over another; “Habitats Regulations” means the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017; “hazardous” in relation to a substance, means that it has the potential to cause environmental pollution; “height control” means a requirement that— a work of a description specified in the requirement must not exceed a height specified in the requirement, or construction work of a description specified in the requirement may only be carried out in relation to such a work if a condition so specified is fulfilled; “highway authority” has meaning given in section 1 of the Highways Act 1980; “Kempston Hardwick station” means the railway station on the Marston Vale Line in the vicinity of Kempston Hardwick; “the Lake Zone” means the area shaded yellow on the zonal plan; “the Map” means reference document 1 (site location plan); “mass grading” means the process of reshaping land to achieve a desired elevation and slope, for the purposes of ensuring a stable and level foundation for other construction work; “modification” means, in relation to a controlling document, reference document or endorsement condition, an amendment, variation or replacement of that controlling document, reference document or endorsement condition; “modify” means, in relation to a controlling document, reference document or endorsement condition, to amend, vary or replace that controlling document, reference document or endorsement condition; “motor vehicle” has the meaning given in section 185(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988; “new” means, in relation to any work in relation to which authorised development is carried out or is proposed to be carried out, that it does not exist on the Order land as the result of development at the date on which the first material operation comprised in that authorised development begins; “occupy” means, in relation to any authorised work, to use it, as a visitor, for the purpose for which it is erected, installed or otherwise provided, and “occupation” is to be construed accordingly; “the Order land” means the land to which this Order applies, as described in article 1(4) (citation, commencement, extent, application and revocation); “OS plan” means a plan based on the latest Ordnance Survey map of the Order land, drawn to an identified scale and showing the direction of North; “preliminary work” means— environmental surveys and monitoring, ecological habitat creation, and measures for species relocation; surveys of existing infrastructure; investigations for the purpose of— assessing or monitoring ground conditions and levels, or identifying the presence, or determining the likely location or nature, of any environmental pollution, or any substance in, on, under or over land, whose presence may give rise to a relevant contamination risk, including by carrying out geotechnical, soil, or other surveys, trenching, or drilling of boreholes; archaeological work; vegetation clearance; erection, provision or installation of— compounds, hoardings, screening, gates and other means of enclosure, including for the purposes of providing security or storage for materials, plant or equipment; lighting and other plant or equipment; structures for displaying signs, notices or information; other facilities or infrastructure, including access routes, for the use of construction workers, vehicles, plant and equipment, in so far as those structures, facilities or infrastructure relate to, those construction workers are carrying out, and those materials, vehicles, plant and equipment are used for, works within paragraphs (a) to (e); “public road” means— an existing road— in respect of which a strategic highways company is the highway authority; which is adopted by a highway authority other than a strategic highways company; which does not fall within sub-paragraph (i) or (ii), but over which the public has a right to pass and repass at any time (unless, and to the extent that, its closure is authorised by an enactment), including any active travel route or proposed active travel route associated with such an existing road, or a roadway link whose approximate location is marked on the access and roadways plan, and— in respect of which a strategic highways company is or will be the highway authority; which is adopted by a highway authority other than a strategic highways company, or which such a highway authority has agreed to adopt; which does not, or may not, fall within sub-paragraph (i) or (ii), but over which, if it does not, the site controller proposes that the public will have a right to pass and repass at any time (unless, and to the extent that, its closure is authorised by an enactment), including any active travel route or proposed active travel route associated with such a roadway link; “railway” has the meaning given in section 67(1) of the Transport and Works Act 1992; “reference document” means a document that— was submitted to the Secretary of State before the making of this Order, and is listed in Schedule 1 (reference documents); “relevant contamination risk” means a risk that arises in respect of the carrying out of construction work on part of the Order land, where the carrying out of that construction work will cause significant harm or significant pollution, or a significant possibility of significant harm or significant pollution; “remediation work” means anything required to be done to remediate or decontaminate land, including the removal of hazardous substances from it; “Schedule 3 condition” means a condition or limitation set out in Schedule 3 (conditions and limitations); “significant harm” means harm, as defined in section 78A(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, that is significant, within the meaning of 78A(5) of that Act; “significant pollution” means pollution of controlled waters, as defined in section 78A(9) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, that is significant, within the meaning of 78A(5) of that Act; “significant possibility”, in relation to significant harm or significant pollution, has the meaning given in 78A(5) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990; “site controller” means the undertaking designated as such from time to time under condition 3 (designation of site controller and appointment of principal representative); “staff member” means— an officer or employee of the site controller or any of its affiliates, or another individual— operating or managing the ERC, or otherwise providing services to visitors in the ERC with the consent of the site controller; “strategic highways company” means a company for the time being appointed as such under section 1 of the Infrastructure Act 2015; “submission document” means a document or information that a Schedule 3 condition or an endorsement condition requires the site controller to “submit” to the Secretary of State for approval or validation, but does not include any document that a provision of this Order requires the site controller to “give” or “provide” to the Secretary of State, or to attach or include with such a document when giving or providing it to the Secretary of State; “transport hub” means a work constructed to facilitate— the movement of people between one mode of transport and another; their waiting for transport services; “undertaking” has the meaning given by section 1161(1) of the Companies Act 2006; “utility compound” has the meaning given in condition 42(1) (class 4 authorised works); “validation” means, in relation to a submission document, the Secretary of State’s— review of it to ascertain whether it has been prepared in accordance with each Schedule 3 condition and endorsement condition that applies to it, and confirmation that it has been so prepared; “visitor” means a person who lawfully visits an authorised work otherwise than as a worker; “watercourse” has the meaning given by section 72(1) of the Land Drainage Act 1991; “the West Gateway Zone” means the area shaded blue on the zonal plan; “Wixams station” means the railway station constructed, or proposed to be constructed, on the Midland Main Line in the vicinity of Wixams; “work” means— subject to paragraph (b), any building, structure, facility, infrastructure (including a road), space or other thing that results from development in, on, under or over land; paragraph (a) does not apply in the defined terms “archaeological work”, “construction work”, “preliminary work”, “remediation work” or, in Schedule 3, “CEMP work” or “site preparatory work”, but does apply where the word “work” is used in the definitions of those defined terms otherwise than in any of those phrases; “worker” means any— construction worker, staff member, or other individual who is present on the Order land— to supply goods or services in connection with authorised development or the operation of authorised works, including conveying, or assisting in the conveyance of, visitors to and from the ERC, or in connection with the performance of a function conferred by or under an enactment; “the zonal plan” means reference document 3 (zonal plan). (2) Unless otherwise specified, a reference in this Order to a document that is a reference document or controlling document is, at any given time, a reference to that document, as modified by any modification of it which, at that time— (a) the Secretary of State has endorsed under article 7 (modification of reference documents, controlling documents and endorsement conditions), and (b) has taken effect, pursuant to a notice given under article 7(8), to the extent that that modification has not ceased to have effect as a result of another, subsequent such modification that has been endorsed and taken effect pursuant to such a notice at that time. (3) A reference in this Order to a reference document designated by a number is a reference to the document listed in the second column of the row of the table in Schedule 1 (reference documents) where that number appears in the first column. (4) A reference in this Order— (a) to— (i) a “class” of authorised development designated by a number, or combination of numbers and letters, or (ii) authorised development that is “in” or “of” a class so designated, is a reference to authorised development of the kind referred to in the paragraph of Schedule 2 (classes of development permitted) that is designated by the same number, or combination of numbers and letters; (b) to— (i) a “class” of authorised works designated by a number, or combination of numbers and letters, or (ii) authorised works that are “in” or “of” a class so designated, is a reference to authorised works that result, or will result, from authorised development of the class that is designated by the same number, or combination of numbers and letters. (5) A reference in this Order to a “condition” designated by a number is a reference to the paragraph of Schedule 3 (conditions and limitations) that is designated by the same number. (6) A reference in this Order to the height of a work refers to its height measured from the baseline specified in the provision where the reference appears (AGL, AOD, or as otherwise specified in that provision, as the case may be) to its highest point. (7) Where a provision in this Order refers— (a) to a part of the Order land as being located, or (b) to activities or authorised works being carried out or located, within, or more than, a specified distance from a specified boundary or other line marked on a plan, from a work, or from a part of a work, the reference is to that part of the Order land that is located as specified within, or beyond, as the case may be, a line, each point on which is at the specified distance from that specified boundary or line, or the edge or other specified part of that work, when measuring perpendicular to that boundary, line, edge or part in the specified direction, and in this paragraph, “specified” means specified in a provision to which this paragraph applies. (8) A reference in this Order to any details, information, notice, statement, report, confirmation, verification, opinion, consent, scheme, programme or other document to be given, submitted or provided by one person to another, or to any person notifying another person about something, in or under this Order is to such details, information, notice, statement, report, confirmation, verification, opinion, consent, scheme, programme or other document or notification being given, submitted or provided in writing.