Universal has revealed that it considered locating its upcoming theme park on the edge of Milton Keynes, but "commercially acceptable terms could not be agreed", so it ended up choosing a site in Bedford.
Last week, it announced that the new park will be called Universal United Kingdom Resort and will open in 2031.
It was the latest step in a journey that began more than three years ago, when rumours began swirling that Universal was looking to buy back PortAventura World, the theme park in Spain that it owned between 1998 and 2004.
Universal's portfolio of parks was on a roll following the end of the pandemic, so the studio began an aggressive expansion plan to plug holes in the map where Disney was the only major theme park brand.
The most glaring omission in Universal's stable was a park in Europe. Not only is Disneyland Paris home to the region's most-visited theme park, but it also generates more revenue than any other international outpost in Disney's collection, representing 61.3% of the $6.5bn total in 2025.
Universal wanted a piece of this action and eventually decided to plant its flag even closer to Paris. Its gaze fell on the UK, and in August 2023, it acquired the site of a former brickworks roughly halfway between Bedford and Milton Keynes.
Detailed analysis of the planning application
Universal began by buying around 480 acres and later acquired neighbouring options and parcels of land, expanding its total footprint there to 662 acres.
Once the acquisition was disclosed in the quarterly filings of Universal's ultimate parent, Comcast, it began a process of public consultations culminating in a request for planning permission.
This was fast-tracked by ministers in December, setting the stage for last week's announcement.
In order to get there, Universal had to submit a planning permission application, which totalled 469 pages. News websites scoured it for hints about the contents of the upcoming park, leading to a deluge of reports revealing that it may be home to Europe's tallest roller coasters but will not feature nightly fireworks.
The more mundane details of the mechanics of the transaction were largely overlooked and remained that way. Until now.
The site needed to meet several requirements, including the amount of free space and how accessible it is from LondonImage courtesy of Universal
Detailed analysis of the planning application reveals that Universal had a list of very specific attributes that the site had to meet, including being more than 200 acres, having relatively flat land to reduce requirements for extensive earthworks and being near a railway station as well as a motorway or main A road so that London is no more than a two-hour drive away.
This is crucial to ensure that enough guests can visit and generate the profit to pay off its investment in the resort.
Universal plans to spend £5bn to get the park to opening day and another £1bn on expansion over the first decade, making it one of the studio's most expensive outposts.
Rejected site
The planning application reveals that Universal "identified a potentially suitable site to the northeast of Milton Keynes, close to Junction 14 of the M1 (the Newport Road site), which is located within a Strategic City Extension in the draft Milton Keynes Local Plan 2050, proposed to deliver 16,000 new homes and 40 ha of employment land, designed around a new public-transit network."
The site couldn't be better connected, as it is just four miles from central Milton Keynes and borders the city's eastern boundary.
However, the documents add that "commercially acceptable terms could not be agreed on this site and therefore it is not viable. It is also now proposed for alternative mixed-use development, in line with the policies of the draft Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) Local Plan 2050 and is therefore not available."
That sent Universal into the arms of Bedford Borough Council, and although the site it chose is 17 miles away from Milton Keynes, it casts a powerful spell in other ways.
A major factor in the site selection was the development of the East West Rail line, which will run directly through Milton Keynes to the resort area, where the local Wixams railway station will be expanded to accommodate trains.
Universal United Kingdom Resort will be located in Bedfordshire, 45 minutes outside London
It is part of a £474m government commitment to upgrade local transport infrastructure, including widening the A421 trunk road and building a dedicated junction on it.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has also committed to giving Universal a £438m grant once it has completed its work on the community infrastructure, with a further £400m paid when the resort opens. There is a good reason for this.
Universal expects the site to generate nearly £50bn in economic benefit for the UK economy by 2055 and create around 28,000 jobs, with 6,400 of those coming from Bedfordshire and the surrounding regions.
More than 50% of the UK population lives within a two-hour drive of the resort, so Universal should be able to make a profit while boosting Britain's economy.
Following the announcement of the park's name last week, Experience UK says the development presents significant opportunities for both businesses in Bedfordshire and those operating across the UK's broader attractions, tourism, leisure, culture and visitor experience industries.
