Universal studios on my doorstep

[Queenofkittens]

So universal studios have been given the green light to go ahead and plan a park in Bedford. I actually live in Wixams, the newer village and have done for the past 5 years. Universal studios will be right on my doorstep and I'm not sure how I feel about it. One part of me is excited to have something so close that will be great for the kids and so on and the other part of me is dreading it. The traffic for starters. Also, I'm aware that house prices (including mine) are set to increase meaning we will have definitely made some money on it but we weren't planning on staying forever as we ideally need a larger house so our boys don't have to share a room. However, I understand we won't be able to afford a bigger house in wixams but will I even be able to buy a house in Bedford at all? Are the prices going to be so ridiculous that I won't be able to live here (which I have for the last 31 years!). Does anyone think I'm being silly (AIBU) or would you genuinely be worried? (YANBU)

They were supposed to be on my doorstep until that idea was scrapped about a year ago! You never know, they might change their minds again 😂

I'm happy about it. I'm a bit further down the A6 and wasn't chuffed about the Luton airport expansion but then saw the news about this and it all started to hang together.
Assuming it gets off the ground, and it is looking very likely, this is my retirement job plan. I'm in an industry where I'm likely to be managed out in the next 5-8 years and I'll need another job as I'll still be 10 years or more from retirement, but probably will be keen not to work full time. I've great customer service experience and I can imagine this'll be a good place to work with flexible shifts.
Six years or there abouts before it opens also gives me enough time to arrange finance and save up for a extension to build a granny flat/ garage conversion which I plan on letting out for people holidaying/visiting the area. hmrc allows £7.5k income per year free of tax for people letting rooms in their own property and it includes short term lets like Airbnb.
There's already a park and ride that seems very under used right by the A6 A421 junction, so I expect that'll be expanded. The site is brownfield, on the old brickworks, and bringing jobs to the area. Yes there will be downsides, traffic and noise primarily, but for me the upsides far outweigh the downsides as it's hopefully providing income options for me outside of London that I feel good about.

I'm local too and think Bedford is really lucky to have this opportunity.

28000 jobs is amazing when the town has been losing industry and becoming so run down (like many others). Yes, there might be some short term pain but Universal do stuff well and have the money to do it so I'm pretty sure there won't be long term disruption.

@Piggywaspushed money is the answer. job creation in the first instance, and then...
Tourists spending money will attract more investment from retailers and other hospitality business = even more job creation = more money flowing into the area.
More money in the area results in gentrification, diversification and extra funds for the local council to provide services. For example road upkeep and cleanliness is higher priority in tourist areas, one of many things that make somewhere a nice place to live. More funds means better funded schools and libraries and money for museums and other attractions for holiday makers to visit so they might stay longer.
Better services, attractive area means more people will see Bedford as a great place to live and work, so housing will also be invested in = more job creation and more money.

I could go on. Does that help?
It's not going to suit everyone obviously. So some people will also choose to relocate away from the area, or find a spot that's relatively unaffected no doubt.

Edited for auto correct fail

Agree with this. All this short-term thinking about "my DC will get a holiday job", when we're at the point in human history where we desperately need to protect water and field spaces like this, not concrete over and pour in the tonnes of disposable junk that will surround toys, food, drinks, souvenirs, etc, hoping there'll be more natural space somewhere else [vaguely waves hand somewhere else] to keep us and our climate remotely sustainable. It's not NIMBY-ism, I'd feel really depressed about this being built anywhere in the UK. The fucking light pollution as well, as this runs on long days, will fuck up the wildlife for miles around.

But: unskilled seasonal jobs at minimum wage! Yay!

Yes, I have heard all those arguments and remain unconvinced that any visitors will go anywhere near Bedford. Every major retailer has vacated Bedford now .

How do we get better funded schools? Don't get that at all!

I also remain convinced that the jobs created are no more than low paid service industry jobs, unlike, say, the science parks around Cambridge.

Ah well @Piggywaspushed I guess we'll just need to wait and see. You could be right. I don't think I can point to a single area that has a tourist attraction of a similar size that isn't doing well.

Most jobs at Alton Towers, for example, pay around £12 per hour so yes, NMW. A maintenance mechanic (a pretty important job at a theme park) earns just over £20 per hour, £44,126 per annum, 40 hour weeks

Do we have a UK precedent?

My first thought was wondering if the 500 acres are on a brown field site or is more of the countryside going to be swallowed up.

I also live nearby and work in Bedford. In 2 minds - my main concern is the infrastructure as the roads around Bedford are a bit of a nightmare, the A421 included at times which I drive down every day to work. And the hospital in Bedford certainly isn’t big enough to cope with all the extra visitors! But it will be good to have some investment in the area and it’s great that it will create so many new jobs. Plus looking forward to visiting when it’s open as I’ve never been to a Universal theme park before!

Annual pass.

I think they get reduced entry.

I used to live on Hills Farm road in Kempston and thank goodness I'm now in Somerset. I couldnt stand the noise and extra traffic. The hospital I used to work at will be inundated too. Nightmare.

Investment into infrastructure and hospitality. Bedford isn't the prettiest town but has a few good features. I'm sure that the council and locals will want it to have a face lift....

What the locals want is shops back. And less traffic!

The site is brownfield. It does have wildlife though and does afford some open views and an important buffer zone between towns and villages.

You will probably get a special reduced rate access pass.

And who would shop in the shops? I don't think the locals do otherwise they would still be shops.
As for less traffic, we all want less traffic but with everyone having a car that's not going to happen.
The brownfield sit is either going to be turned into a new housing or industrial estate or the proposed theme park, so your argument about the wildlife is sadly invalid.

Well, if there won't be shops back , I can't see the improvements for the people of Bedford in terms of lifestyle. The traffic issues are entirely about road access and pinch points such as the M1 junction so the theme park could make that worse.

They never planned housing there because the developers would have had to fill in lakes.

There's not a lot of countryside left to ruin. I was born in Wootton in the 70s, my dad still lives there. It was a village then, now it's basically a big joined up conglomeration of Wootton, Kempston, Kempston Rural and Hardwick, practically a straight run of houses all the way into Bedford. The traffic is usually pretty bad. The A142 is horrible, dangerous and floods.

It's the old brickworks site. I remember them coming down. Stewartby was a "dry" village, my mates used to stagger home across fields after using pubs in Wootton. They'd get flattened on the A142 now!

Dad is pretty resigned to it- he says there's not a lot to ruin and he'll be gone by the time they finish!

Love all those suggestions - it’s hard enough to save the deposit for one home let alone a second one!!

Our world is visably heading into a climate catastrophe - so just off the top of my head - building a massive f*-off theme park, expanding Heathrow and accepting American chlorinated chicken - yep, tick, tick, tick those were amongst the top of my list of things to greenlight / invest in. Hurrah!

I would hate to have that built near me.