In an opinion piece written for the Bedford Independent, tourism minister Stephanie Peacock MP highlights why she thinks the Universal United Kingdom Resort will be transformative for Bedford Borough.
This is a hugely exciting time for Bedfordshire.
Today, the government has secured a transformational investment of over £5 billion from Comcast NBCUniversal to build a theme park and resort in Bedfordshire.
This announcement marks the official start of a landmark project that will place Bedford firmly on the global entertainment map.
Universal United Kingdom Resort is expected to open in 2031 and will be the first of its kind in Europe.
Initial enabling works are underway to transform the site of the former Kempston Hardwick brickworks near Bedford into a world-class entertainment resort complex filled with immersive storytelling, thrilling attractions and great guest service and hospitality that will attract millions of visitors each year.
But for the people of Bedford, this project is more than just the excitement of a new theme park on their doorstep, it’s about the jobs, investment and the opportunities it’ll create.
The resort is expected to generate an estimated £50 billion for the UK economy by 2055, much of that being felt in Bedfordshire.
The construction of the resort will create 20,000 jobs and a further 8,000 jobs once operational in 2031.
Local employment
Local people will sit at the heart of this development, with Universal committing to hire around 80 percent of employees from Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes and surrounding areas.
In addition, the company will be developing apprenticeships, internships and career pathways to help train the next generation of workers and provide local people with high-quality, long-term employment.
For young people considering their future, it opens up possibilities across sectors, from engineering and hospitality to construction and business management.
For local tradespeople, suppliers and small businesses, it represents a significant pipeline of work and investment that will support the wider regional economy for years to come.
Creative industries
Our creative industries are economic powerhouses that fly the flag for the UK around the world, and the creation of this theme park and resort represents yet another exciting creative career pathway for young people to pursue.
The benefits of this transformational development are already being felt.
So far, over one hundred people have started working on the project in Bedford, and Universal has received over 33,000 expressions of interest from individuals interested in future employment opportunities.
The Chancellor and I met with some of the new hires at the site today to underline that this is precisely how major investment should work: creating growth that is rooted in the local area and felt by local people.
£1.3bn government investment
For the government’s part, we will invest £1.3 billion on the local and regional transport and community infrastructure needed to ensure the park can operate successfully without adversely impacting local residents and businesses, with improved transport links for local residents and visitors from across the UK and abroad.
These long-awaited infrastructure improvements include enhancements to Wixams railway station, new direct slip roads from the A421 and wider transport upgrades linked to the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.
These will strengthen connectivity across the region and leave a lasting legacy well beyond the park and resort itself.
Universal’s theme parks are home to some of the world’s most recognisable stories and experiences, and it will be hugely exciting to see which franchises and IP are featured at Universal United Kingdom Resort.
Yet while the attractions themselves will capture imaginations, the real impact of this project will be economic renewal, new opportunity and the establishment of Bedford as a hub for innovation.
Today is just the beginning – I can’t wait to see how the park takes shape in the years ahead.
This is an opinion piece written for the Bedford Independent
by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Stephanie Peacock MP (Labour).
