Bedford Borough Council has said it will work with central government and Universal Destinations & Experiences on a planned UK theme park.
Last week, a multi-billion pound deal was agreed between Universal, the UK government, and the local council for a new Universal theme park in Bedfordshire.
Universal’s proposed UK theme park was confirmed in December 2023 after the company bought a 476-acre parcel of land in the county.
Laura Church, the council’s chief executive, told the BBC the local authority had been in talks with Universal “for quite a while”.
The council will play a key role in the project’s future development, including the planning and delivery of infrastructure, she said.
It will “continue to work with [Universal Destinations & Experiences] through the next stages”, Church added.
Multi-billion pound deal agreed for Universal UK
“It will be government lead, but that means that they will still need to listen to us and we will want to be around the table talking to them,” she said.
The council will work with central government and Universal on issues like road flooding, Church told the publication.
She also said disruption during the construction of the theme park would be kept to a minimum.
Universal estimates 8,000 jobs will be created in the hospitality and creative sectors once the site is operational.
Church said: “I think that’s one of the great opportunities – for us to work with colleges and with other organisations to really make sure that we’re training that workforce of the future.”
Additionally, Universal expects to create nearly 20,000 jobs during the building of the theme park.
“We’ve also got some really big construction companies in our patch already who are also already supporting growing the workforce,” Church said.
The biggest challenges for the council would be providing additional housing and health services.
Council to play key role in development
“We will want to work with the health service to make sure that we are supporting work with them around workforce and also access to GPs,” she said.
“So lots of challenges, but there are also opportunities.”
Images courtesy of Universal
