Mo Chaudry, Asian entrepreneur and star of Channel 4 TV’s ‘Secret Millionaire’, is determined to put arranged marriage on the General Election agenda.

Mr Chaudry, who owns the famous Waterworld attraction at Stoke-on-Trent, has been at the forefront of the campaign to criminalise arranged marriage in the UK for several years.
Speaking after David Cameron visited a Staffordshire brewery on Tuesday Mr Chaudry said: “Mr Cameron denounced the practice; in which girls and boys are forced into marrying someone they do not want to, when we discussed the problem two years ago. He told me that a Conservative government would consider making forced marriages a criminal offence.”
Tory legislation, proposed at the time, would include making would-be brides and grooms come to Britain to get married. Also, their partners in the UK would have to be at least 21 years of age.
British nationals travelling abroad to marry will have to register in the UK beforehand if they want their marriage recognised for immigration purposes.
300 cases are reported annually to the Government’s Forced Marriage Unit but the true figure is likely to be very much higher.
“It seems utterly bizarre, and frankly unacceptable, that this goes on in Britain – but it does,” said Mr Chaudry.
The Forced Marriages Act already allows for civil actions, but it is unlikely that a high proportion of victims press criminal charges against their own parents. For this reason it is important to give the courts the power to prosecute.
“Forced marriages need to be criminalised. It is a very sensitive and real issue within communities. It is not something we can brush under the carpet. The ideal end product would be to get legislation to make it a criminal offence to force a bride or groom into an arranged marriage. And we need to make sure that statutory bodies like the police act on that legislation,” said Mr Chaudry.

THREE new rides and a tropical beach will form part of a £10 million plan to create a new hotel at a top tourist attraction.

Waterworld boss Mo Chaudry said the hotel, which will allow visitors access to the aqua park at Festival Park, is aimed at tapping into the booming short breaks market.
The development will include three new ‘bigger, better and faster rides’, a beach with real sand and a health and fitness centre which will increase employment at the attraction from 125 to 300.

It is anticipated that the hotel development, which will be next door to the Moat House, will increase visitor numbers to 500,000 and bring a further £7 million into the region’s economy.
Mr Chaudry, who is currently in talks with a hotel operator, said a facelift was needed to turn the business around after spiraling costs and a drop in visitors number to below 400,000.
He said: “This will take Waterworld into the 21st century. We are head and shoulders above the rest in the UK in terms of an aqua park but we want to go further than that and create a leisure world where visitors will come and spend a few days.”…

Mo Chaudry, entrepreneur and star of Channel 4 TV’s ‘Secret Millionaire’, unveiled plans for the final phase of the £10 million redevelopment of the Waterworld tourist attraction today.

Mr Chaudry plans to build two water’s edge restaurants, a new ‘beach’ area with special lighting that imitates sunlight, a ‘Wellness’ centre (include beauty treatments, saunas and Jacuzzis), a new health and fitness club (including the first ice cave in the UK), sun decking and an interactive play area for youngsters.
Waterworld, which is already the most popular aqua attraction in the UK, will expand to cover an additional 35,000 square feet, making a total 105,000 sq/ft.
The first phase of Waterworld’s development included Little Gym, Lady Zone, Subway, Café Bar and merchandising outlets.
Mr Chaudry, who represents the Destination Staffordshire tourism and marketing partnership, has championed the need for investment in the Stoke area for many years.
“I witnessed the decline and decay of Stoke on Trent in the 1980s and 1990s as the coal pits and steel industry closed and the ceramics industry waned. The grim industrial environment is now changing dramatically,” said Mr Chaudry.
Waterworld’s twelve acre site is arguably the best development location in North Staffordshire; within the urban core and backing onto the Trent & Mersey canal.
“This redevelopment is a fantastic opportunity to bring life into this problem area, open up the canal side in Stoke-on-Trent for all to enjoy and provide local employment,” said Mr Chaudry.
His future plans for the leisure complex include the development of a secret ‘winter’ tourist attraction and building a hotel and self-catering accommodation so that Waterworld can tap into the growing short-break market and become an all year round leisure resort.
NEWS NOTE: Waterworld has been granted a 100% bill of health by the Institute of Qualified Lifeguards (IQL) following their annual external verification last month. The IQF commented that Waterworld’s lifeguard training arrangements where ‘excellent’ which is excellent news for the resort from the point of view of public safety and the visitor experience. It also enables Waterworld to carry on providing training and employment opportunities for young people looking to enter into the leisure industry.

Mo Chaudry, entrepreneur and star of Channel 4’s ‘Secret Millionaire’, has rescued the Olympic aspirations of Potteries sprint ace Alex Nelson.

Nelson, a former under-20 European 200m gold medalist, lost his central funding after struggling with injury problems for most of last season.
Mr Chaudry, who owns the famous Waterworld tourist attraction at Stoke-on-Trent, has stepped in to provide Nelson with a five-year sponsorship to support his campaign to compete at London 2012 and beyond.
“To me this is an opportunity to support a supremely talented local athlete who has the potential to put Stoke-on-Trent on the map in a big way. How good will that be for all of us if he makes the Olympic final? I would like to set up a fund to help other young sporting talent, and I encourage other would-be sponsors to do likewise and give our future Olympians the best chance of success,” said Mr Chaudry.
“This sponsorship money will be a massive help,” said 20 year-old Alex Nelson. “These funds will allow me to fly out to Arizona for warm weather training with my coach. Without Mo’s help this trip, that is vital to my preparation for the season, simply wouldn’t happen.”
A committed philanthropist, Mr Chaudry is also well known for his sporting prowess. He won a silver medal in the 1983 British student Olympic weightlifting championships and has won plaudits for his martial arts and amateur boxing exploits. He also played under 19’s cricket for Warwickshire, winning full caps for Shropshire County Cricket Club.
He received honorary degrees from Keele University and Staffordshire University in 2008, where he had previously studied sports science.

Mo Chaudry, star of Channel 4 TV’s ‘Secret Millionaire’ and owner of the famous Waterworld tourist attraction in Stoke-on-Trent, is supporting the Conservative party candidates in the current Election campaign.

“The Tories have pledged help to the tourism and leisure sector,” said Mr Chaudry. “We are hoping that reform of the tax system will result in reduced VAT for leisure activities, which would align Britain with the rest of Europe.”

Mo Chaudry is passionate about regeneration of the city and youth employment. He is a mentor with PM Training in Stoke, who announced their 10,000th successful apprenticeship last month.

Mr Chaudry fully supports James Rushton, the Conservative Candidate for Stoke South’s petition, ‘Next Stop Stoke’, which hopes to ensure that any future high speed train service does not bypass Stoke station as is the current plan.

Waterworld has collected over 500 signatures so far, and Mr Chaudry is calling on the owners and customers of other major attractions to show their support.

“The fast track train is vital for the regeneration of Stoke-on-Trent and would be integral in the relocation of government and civil service jobs,” said Mr Chaudry.

“James is the local candidate that we need. He has the ideas and the energy to take this City forward.”