Planners of the potential Universal UK theme park have announced two public engagement events this month.
On 13 and 16 April, Universal Destinations & Experiences (UDX) will host two consultation events in Bedford.
The Universal UK Project website has been updated to reflect the events, but the company said that no final decision had been taken on the proposed resort.
It was confirmed in December last year that a near-500-acre site had been acquired by Universal and that a theme park was being assessed for feasibility.
‘Unlike anything else’ in the UK
The ‘information boards’ on the project website state that Universal’s parks are “unlike anything that currently exists in the UK”.
Construction is currently estimated to take between five and six years.
The public material confirmed that a free-admission CityWalk area would be included, similar to Universal’s other parks.
Planners anticipate that up to 40% of the park’s visitors would come by rail, with 35% coming by car.
4,200 car parking spaces would be created, the information board states.
With 10% of visitors expected to drive to the resort, UDX could therefore be planning a circa-40,000 capacity attraction.
500 ride operators and engineers would start work during the construction phase, and then remain as permanent members of staff.
‘Engage and share’ with community
In a new statement, UDX said: “We have spent the last several months undertaking feasibility and due diligence work, as well as discussing the project with local and national stakeholders.
“It will still be some time before any decisions are made on whether or not to proceed with the project, however we want to engage with and share our proposal with local communities.”
The site has been identified for development by Bedford Borough Council for “some time”, UDX said.
The Comcast-owned company added that the site’s size and flat topography was “important for a large-scale theme park resort”.
UDX added that it was too early to “know the possibilities” of attractions and experiences the resort may have.
The company did however reveal that the maximum height of any “component” would need exceed 115 metres (377 feet).
The public engagement period will end on 3 May.
If given the go-ahead, it would mark Universal’s first branded theme park and resort in Europe.
Government support
It has been confirmed that Lucy Frazer MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, is sponsoring the proposed theme park within government.
The government could decide on the project unilaterally, bypassing local authorities if the theme park is categorised under a special development order (SDO).
UDX added that it would “help to facilitate” a number of “significant local infrastructure upgrades” if the plans become to fruition.
These include railway station construction and road improvements.
UDX said that “dedicated, direct slip roads” from the A421 would accommodate circa 85% of the resort’s road traffic.