A proposal by Bedford mayor Tom Wootton to establish “Universal Day” was withdrawn from this week’s full council meeting and will be brought back at a later date, the council has confirmed.
The motion, tabled initially for last night’s (3 July) meeting, would have seen 9 April marked annually as Universal Day, celebrating what the mayor has called a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for the borough in light of Universal Destinations & Experiences’ plans to build a theme park and resort in Bedford.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mayor Wootton (Conservative) said the proposed day would serve as an annual reminder of “the huge vote of confidence that Universal’s decision represents for our town, our people, and our future”.
He added that it was intended to reflect the borough’s ambition and optimism as the project progresses.
The proposed motion highlighted the theme park’s potential to generate £50 billion in economic benefits and create 28,000 jobs, as well as deliver wider infrastructure improvements.
The mayor had described it as a way to “bring the borough together to celebrate what we can achieve when we work together.”
However, when the item came up on the agenda on Wednesday, council speaker Cllr Colleen Atkins (Labour, Harpur) announced that the motion had been withdrawn and would return at a future meeting.
No explanation for the withdrawal was given during the meeting.
Additional reporting by John Guinn,
Local Democracy Reporter
