Europe’s biggest theme park in UK with 500-room hotel & own train station ‘to be confirmed’ next WEEK in £50bn boost
THE UK could be about to become home to Europe’s biggest theme park, with a deal set to be confirmed next week.
Universal is on the cusp of securing the rights to build a brand-new park, similar to those in Orlando and Hollywood, on a 500 acre former brickworks site near Bedford.
Negotiations for the project began last summer, with sources claiming an announcement on the deal could come as soon as next week.
If the deal is secured, this would mean that Comcast (Universal’s owner) will turn the industrial site into one of the top tourist attractions in Europe.
According to analysis by Universal Destinations & Experiences, the theme park could generate almost £50bn of economic value to the UK in its first 20 years.
It is also set to support 20,000 jobs, half of which would be direct employment, and the remainder supplying services to support the site.
The UK Treasury is also set to gain an additional £14.1bn in tax revenue over the 20-year period.
The site, in Kempston Hardwick, near Bedford, will feature a 500-room hotel, an entertainment zone, a train station, and dozens of attractions.
New transport systems are also set to be put in place, as tourism to Bedford is bound to increase, including train routes connecting towns between Oxford and Cambridge, the nearest cities to Bedford.
The site, which is 45 miles from London, has been described as “ideal” due to its convenient transport links, with more than half of the UK population able to reach Bedford within two hours.
Treasury coffers would be boosted by an estimated £35 billion to the economy when the Universal project is being built and for the first 25 years after its doors open.
Tourism Minister Chris Bryant recently told MPs: “I cannot enter into the precise details of the negotiations, but they are going well.
“I am hopeful that this will be absolutely transformational for the British tourism industry if we manage to pull it off.”
Mohammad Yasin, who represents Bedford in Parliament, recently said: “To have such a huge global brand like Universal Studios invest in Britain would be fantastic.”
At present, there is no date for the completion of the project, but it is unlikely to open before 2030, and could take at least six years to build.
Universal currently has five other theme parks across the globe, none of which are in Europe.
Use these tips on your next theme park trip
Next time you visit a theme park, you may want to use our top tips to make the most of your adrenaline-inducing day out.
- Go to the back of the theme park first. Rides at the front will have the longest queues as soon as it opens.
- Go on water rides in the middle of the day in the summer – this will cool you off when the sun is at its hottest.
- Download the park’s app to track which rides have the shortest queues.
- Visit on your birthday, as some parks give out “birthday badges” that can get you freebies.
- If it rains, contact the park. Depending on how much it rained, you may get a free ticket to return.
So far the company has opened Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Japan, Universal Beijing Resort and Universal Studios Singapore.
The UK theme park will be modelled on Universal’s US locations and is expected to feature attractions based on Harry Potter.
It is anticipated that the site will attract millions of visitors, a third of which are estimated to come from overseas.