DESIGNERS are slowly beginning to piece together the futuristic theme park that will change the landscape of Leavesden forever.

Come the millennium construction should be well underway on a £200 million film studios and related entertainment complex at the former Rolls-Royce engine plant.

The man charged with steering this Malaysian financed project to a successful conclusion is former Walt Disney executive Norm Doerges.

The 54-year-old, who hails from Southern California, boasts an impressive curriculum vitae when it comes to involvement in hugely successful theme parks.

He played a significant role in leading the team that designed the $1.2 billion EPCOT Center at Disneyworld Florida in the 1980's and was also responsible for the smooth running of Disneyland in California.

This was the role Mr Doerges was filling when he was lured to Leavesden Studios by the challenge of building Britain's first film-themed entertainment complex.

Mr Doerges, who lives just outside Hemel Hempstead with his wife, explained part of the attraction was the opportunity to live in Europe.

Since moving here last July the reserved American is already getting to grips with English history and admitted his wife is a regular viewer of EastEnders.

Despite 30 years with Walt Disney his new role as President and Chief Operating Officer at Leavesden Studios still manages to capture his imagination.

The father of two said: "It is an adventure, an opportunity to be involved in creating a world class project that has a lot of potential.

"This is not as big as a lot of the things I have been involved with but the emphasis will be on quality.

"People are excited by movies and motion pictures and the opportunity to transfer them into an entertainment park sounded like a lot of fun."

Joined by a team of advisors, Mr Doerges will transform the 286 acre site into a thriving film studios and movie complex expected to create at least 3,000 jobs.

Five independent advisors visited Leavesden in August last year and each was asked to come up with their own film inspired vision for the entertainment complex.

Next week they will meet in Switzerland to discuss their ideas and Leavesden Studios will begin to take shape.

This will be followed by several weeks of consultation by the team headed by Mr Doerges to hammer out the detail of the park.

To help in the creative process and in a bid to ensure the ambitious project is a world-beater a myriad of talent has been assembled.

Mr Doerges said: "We are in the middle of concept development which is a very difficult and elusive creative challenge.

"We brought the designers here in August and put them in a helicopter to give them an idea of the site and where it is relative to London.

"The studio is the development underpinning the whole complex, it is the thing that creates the glamour, the allure and the excitement."

He added: "We don't want this to look like a park site right next to a movie studios when they visit.

"We want to do it in a way where people feel they are in a motion picture studios.

"The skeleton is in place but that might change when we see these creative ideas.

"We don't want to build the buildings first then stick something in them.

"What we would like to do is work out the creative content first and then decide what the facade of the building should be like after."

The film studios, which have already been the setting for the first of the Star Wars prequels and the James Bond film GoldenEye, should be completed in the year 2001.

The theme park is scheduled to open the following year.

Mr Doerges explained: "We would like to open the studio first so we can use it to promote the rest of the project.

"We could possibly have a soap opera or a gameshow produced here that people would identify with the studios.

"One of the most clever things Walt Disney did was to produce a television show called Disneyland to promote the theme park.

"I would like to see us do something along those lines here.

"The theme park will include shows, rides and the opportunity to get involved and discover some of the more technical and creative aspects of the motion picture industry."

Included in the development is a business park where trainees can learn the technical skills associated with the booming film business.

And in a bid to be what Mr Doerges describes as a 'good citizen' residential housing, a spine road and sports pitches have also been included in the planning agreement.

He believes Leavesden is sitting on a gold mine that will mean a complete transformation for the area.

He said: "We want to be the best entertainment park in the United Kingdom. If there is a benchmark it is Universal Studios.

"You have no idea how much prosperity can come with a development like this if it is done right.

'It will provide quality job opportunities and does not place the same burden on the the community as other industries." GRAND DESIGN: Norm Doerges has been charged with transforming Leavesden Studios into a world class theme park

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