Bedford: New Universal theme park to be built and opened 33 minutes from London and create thousands of jobs

The theme park is said to bring nearly 20,000 jobs during the construction period, with a further 8,000 new jobs across the hospitality and creative industries when it opens in 2031.

It will be constructed on the site of the former Kempston Hardwick brickworks near Bedford and is expected to generate 28,000 jobs before it opens in 2031. Universal estimated the 476-acre complex could attract 8.5 million visitors in its first year and generate £50bn for the UK economy by 2055.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the muti-billion-pound investment by the company would "see Bedford home to one of the biggest entertainment parks in Europe, firmly putting the county on the global stage". Universal Destinations and Experience said 80% of those employed in the new jobs will be from Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas.

Universal, which produced films such as Minions and Wicked, currently has theme parks in Orlando and Los Angeles in the US, as well as Osaka, Japan, Sentosa, Singapore, and Beijing, China. The park will be the first Universal-branded destination in Europe.

At the official launch at Kimberley College, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “It’s really fantastic to be here with all of you to announce this new world class theme park and resort in Bedford, what an amazing thing.

“As you can imagine when I took over as prime minister, people warn you that there are tough days that you’re going to face in a responsibility for the armed forces or for fixing the NHS, sorting out the economy.

“So you can imagine that when someone comes and says would you like to launch a theme park, that’s a completely different day,” he said.

The development will be the first Universal-branded theme park and resort destination in Europe and will be part of a larger 476-acre entertainment resort complex.

With Bedford being as little as 33 minutes away on the train from St Pancras International, the destination should prove popular with Londoners.

According to plans from Universal Destinations & Experiences the UK site would include a theme park, a 500-room hotel and a retail complex. These proposals remain subject to a planning decision from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

He added that the government’s action will trigger investment from the private sector.

“And then it generates huge numbers of jobs in all sorts of areas; construction, creatives, you name it,” he said.

“And that then will generate money for this local community for years to come in the wages.

“I mean you can see in the eyes of the students here [at Kimberley College], they realise what this means for them.

“It is important to invest in projects like this that are going to bring a huge amount of money back into the economy generally.

“But particularly into the local economy – this is incredibly good for Bedford and Bedfordshire,” he said.

Chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “We’ve already made a decision about the expansion at Luton Airport, and alongside the announcement today, we’re going to me making upgrades at Bedford Station, a new station at Wixams, and improvements for the A421.

“So benefits for the local community well beyond what the theme park can bring.”

MP Mohammad Yasin (Labour), from the neighbouring Bedford constituency, said: “This is a very exciting project, £50 billion for our economy, 8.5 million people in the first year will visit Bedford.

The MP explained that the extra £50 billion in the economy will enable the government to look after the “disadvantaged”.

“I totally understand the frustration and difficulties [many] people are facing,” he said. “But we also need to understand that we have to make some difficult decisions.

“So we have to fix almost everything, unfortunately there is no quick fix.

“We have to work hard at this and I think this theme park will help our economy,” he said.

A planning proposal will now be submitted to the government, and if approved construction will start in 2026.