It's the kind of story that makes you look at the top of the page to make sure it's not April Fools. Late last year, a major American entertainment company announced its ambition to build a colossal new theme park in a mid-sized market town just north of Luton, just north-east of Milton Keynes. Here, on a plot of land formed by the A421 and the A6, close to Wixams Retirement Village and a Sainsburys distribution centre, a gleaming technopolis would rise; a wonderland of music and lights, rides and refreshments, expansive food courts and thousands of happy visitors. Where exactly? Bedford.
Haha - good one.
Except this was true: Universal Destinations and Experiences - the famous American creator of fun lands and worlds of wonder, who left his scream-if-you-want-to-go-faster impression on Japan, China and Singapore, as well as at home - was apparently planning to expand its theme park portfolio into Bedfordshire.
Now Universal is talking to locals about its plans to revive the old Stewartby Brickworks - a 476-hectare site, on the south-west side of the city, that was one of the largest work zones in the world before its closure in 2011. 2008. Two consultation events will take place over the next week (today and on April 16), while those wishing to participate online can do so via a website (universalukproject.co.uk) asking how the project can be delivered. are realized in a way that benefits the city and the surrounding area.
"We are beginning a period of public engagement in connection with the planning proposal for this potential project," a statement from Universal on its website explains. "We are particularly interested in what is important to you when considering this potential plan, and how we can best celebrate the history and heritage of the area."
It might be easy to make a few not entirely serious suggestions at this point. Perhaps Universal Bedford (name to be confirmed) could weave in traces of the bobbin lacemaking in which the town excelled during the Middle Ages (and long after). Perhaps the country could tip its hat to the wool trade; one of the area's medieval lifelines. And if you're going to build on the old brickworks, why not restore some of that aesthetic too - while recognizing the site's once gigantic chimneys, four of which were given protected status after its closure in 2008, only to be declared protected in 2021 demolished. of course also a few aliens and boy wizards.
The story continues
But Bedford isn't looking for such self-amused comments. Bedford Borough Mayor Tom Wootton has been an enthusiastic supporter of the idea, recently arguing that "a potential Universal Theme Park and Resort will be transformative for our area. It offers a significant opportunity for job creation [and] promoting tourism, all with a benefit to local businesses."
Universal, in turn, is just as serious. This is a significant proposal that, although still at the drawing board stage (there is no planning permission at the moment), could indeed prove transformative for one of Britain's less appreciated places.
There would definitely be more money lying around. Including its Far East locations, Universal's theme park division generates approximately $7.5 billion in revenue per year.
It is not that there is no precedent. Ask the nearest child what the word 'Orlando' means, and they will wax lyrical about fairytale castles and talking mice. Although only the fourth largest dot on the map of the Sunshine State (after Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa), the city in the heart of Florida is certainly the most famous; a Xanadu with roller coasters.
Orlando's Rise from the Florida Swamps
It wasn't always like that. Like most major cities in the United States, you can't dig much deeper into its history than three centuries. But in the case of Orlando, the archaeological trench is much shallower. Once you get past the basic story - sporadic Spanish explorations in the 16th and 17th centuries; the forced removal of the native Seminole people from much of the landmass in the 18th and 19th centuries - little happened in the heart of the Florida peninsula until Orlando's first jerk, the village of Jernigan, was founded in 1843. town was a slow process, hampered by the Great Frost of 1894-1895, which destroyed most of the area's citrus groves, and only really took off when the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad arrived in 1926. Even then, war and the Great Depression intervened and As late as the 1950s, Orlando's main purpose was to support the army and air bases that had sprung up on the periphery.
It was the beginning of the amusement park era that changed everything. In 1965, Walt Disney announced plans to build a massive physical incarnation of his cinematic world in Orlando, having chosen the inland location over more hurricane-prone Miami and Tampa. When it opened on October 1, 1971, Walt Disney World wasn't a breakthrough - Disney had already launched Disneyland in California in 1955 - but it helped revolutionize life in Orlando. Similar entities would follow, either in the city or on its edges: SeaWorld Orlando (in 1973) and Legoland Florida (in 2011), as well as Universal's own heavy footprints in the city, the twin titans of Universal Studios Florida (in 1990). and Universal Islands of Adventure (in 1999). The latter now plays host to the phenomenally popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was added in 2010. A third address in the city, Universal Epic Universe, has been delayed by the pandemic but will open next year.
The scale of the success is evident from the figures. Orlando attracts approximately 75 million visitors annually, the vast majority of whom go to its entertainment areas. Not least Disney World; now a sprawling complex of four different theme parks and two water parks - attracting 21 million of those tourists, by its own ever-shining accord.
An exciting addition to Universal Bedford or pipe dream thinking?
Of course, Bedford would argue it doesn't need such a star-studded lead. At least, not in terms of history. After all, it was on the map long before 1843. The name is thought to be a combination of the Saxon chief Bede and a point on the Great Ouse where those early Britons would cross the river. It was certainly around 796, when King Offa (he of the Dyke) was (probably) buried in the ground. It was a Viking-era border town, located on the border between Anglo-Saxon Mercia and the more eastern Danelaw area, where Norse rule held sway. The medieval fortress was built so early that, built in 919, it fell victim to a Viking attack. A second version, built around 1100, proved slightly more durable, but was also destroyed in 1224. Some four centuries later, the Puritan writer John Bunyan was imprisoned in Bedford Gaol and wrote his keynote Pilgrim Progress in one of his cells. In short, Bedford doesn't need any help with history.
Would this all be swept away by the screams of teenagers on drop tower rides, and the smell of expensive donuts? No. Would the city be transformed by a theme park? Certainly.
There are two precedents more relevant than Orlando's rise from the Florida swamps. One is just off the M1, on the outskirts of Watford, where the Warner Bros Studio Tour has been another Harry Potter pilgrimage since 2012. Few would argue that an attraction that could attract 6,000 paying customers a day wasn't a huge attraction. hit.
Another case study awaits on the other side of the Channel; one with perhaps more relevance. News that a multifaceted American conglomerate is considering bringing its flashy logo and search for new revenue streams to a place with unreliable weather has made headlines before. Forty years ago it was Disney who were considering possible locations for a European theme park - eventually, in 1992, eschewing the Mediterranean sun of Alicante for the rather rainy skies above Chessy, on the east side of Paris. What is now Disneyland Paris has proven its worth, but only after a two-year stint as "Euro Disney," where, amid several teething problems, the park came pretty close to being an expensive flop. Its rise to 21st-century status as Europe's most visited tourist destination (400 million visitors and counting) has provided evidence of an initially stiff pudding - but such success can never be guaranteed.
In 32 years, will we be amazed by the latest exciting addition to Universal Bedford? Will this remarkable sight actually pay tribute to the area's industrial past, or are such suggestions just corporate talk to ensure the right boxes are ticked on the right pages? Will Bedford has become Florida's favorite cousin; an array of water parks and mega hotels with neon signs surrounding that original Saxon core? Or is this destined to become one of the few vaguely remembered pieces of pie-in-the-sky thinking that never makes it past conference room conversations? At this point, the views of a Hogwarts alumnus who can see the future can be quite helpful.
