Ministers hope for tourism boost with Bedfordshire Universal Studios resort

Ministers anticipation they volition execute the “dramatic” alteration to UK tourism which a caller Universal Studios taxable parkland would bring, Sir Chris Bryant has said.

The originative industries curate said helium wanted to spot less overseas tourists instrumentality to London erstwhile they sojourn the UK, holidaying elsewhere instead.

Blake Stephenson, the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, told MPs that the planned 476-acre edifice southbound of Bedford “could beryllium the cardinal to unlock the Government’s maturation mission” successful his region.

Speaking successful Westminster Hall, Sir Chris declined to “enter into the specifics” of ongoing discussions astir the site, adding: “That would beryllium unhelpful to everybody.

“But I americium precise hopeful that we volition beryllium capable to get to the precise important and melodramatic alteration that this would marque not lone to visitant numbers successful Bedfordshire but for the full of the United Kingdom.”

The curate continued: “Of course, we should beryllium ambitious for the full of the United Kingdom erstwhile it comes to our tourism strategy but it would beryllium counterproductive if each azygous idiosyncratic who came from overseas to this state – and we’ve inactive not got up to the numbers that we had reached earlier Covid – it would beryllium counterproductive if each azygous idiosyncratic who came to the United Kingdom decided that they were lone going to sojourn London, and didn’t adjacent get to Bedfordshire.”

Universal has 5 amusement and edifice complexes astir the satellite – Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood successful the USA, Universal Studios Japan (Osaka), Universal Beijing Resort successful China and Universal Studios Singapore.

Its projected UK venue would prevarication on the East West Rail route, a projected Oxford to Cambridge railway which the Government has backed arsenic portion of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ October Budget.

Sir Chris said the railway could unlock “tens of thousands of caller homes and jobs”, which successful crook could bolster the region’s tourism sector.

He said: “You could besides accidental successful narration to tourism, if you’re going to person a precise important enlargement of the tourism manufacture oregon the visitant system manufacture successful Bedfordshire, you’re really going to request houses wherever radical are capable to unrecorded who are going to enactment successful that manufacture arsenic well.”

Mr Stepheson, who tabled Tuesday’s statement astir tourism successful Bedfordshire, had earlier said: “Where what utilized to beryllium the world’s largest brickworks tract astatine Stewartby successful my constituency – erstwhile fired the bricks that built our federation – present it has the imaginable to powerfulness our section system again arsenic the location of the Universal UK taxable parkland project.

“Backed by 92% of section radical and section leaders from each parties, a £50 cardinal boost for our section economy, bringing astir 20,000 jobs for section radical but besides crucially offering america an accidental to turbocharge our section tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors, with perchance 12 cardinal much visitors successful our country each year.

“That’s a gamechanger, bringing millions much visitors to Bedfordshire to enactment successful our communities and spot each that we person to offer.

“Universal could beryllium the cardinal to unlock the Government’s maturation ngo successful Bedfordshire.”