A Bedford borough councillor has warned of the potential pressures Universal Studios could place on local services and the housing market.
But Bedford’s mayor said responding to these impacts needs to be thoroughly thought through and not done in a “half-arsed” way.
Cllr Ben Foley (Green, Greyfriars) raised several concerns about the broader implications of the project across council service areas during the latest Executive meeting on Wednesday 23 April.
The councillor asked if executive members were thinking about the implications of the Universal decision on their service areas.
“For example, we know that there are going to be implications for the housing market of an increased number of Airbnbs,” Cllr Foley said.
“Similarly, there may be implications on children’s services because potential fosterers may have an alternative source of income from their spare rooms.
“There’ll be implications for transport networks and so on.”
Bedford mayor Tom Wootton (Conservative), said that was a “very good question”, but it’s still early days.
“I think all cabinet members should be talking with their officers about how it is going to affect us,” he said.
“And of course we are five or six years away from the opening date, so there are great many things still up in the air.
“I think we’ve got to work on it, and also I want to do it properly.
“It’s not something that wants to come out half-arsed.
“Ask me in three or four years’ time, but at the minute we will endeavour to try and work out what it will mean for [services].”
Cllr Foley was concerned that waiting too long to act could make it difficult to prepare properly.
“I was worried about the comment ‘about three or four years’,” the councillor added.
“By then it will be too late to put in place some of the actions that we need to take.
“The Greens have welcomed the decision by Universal but at the same time we’re aware of the possible downsides.
“We need to work hard both to maximize the upsides and to minimize and mitigate the downsides.
“If we get this right, Universal could be absolutely great for the area.
“But the worry is if we don’t get it right, we’ll suffer as a result.”
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
