Independent · Bedford · Kempston Hardwick
A town of 100,000 is about to build something for 20,000
Universal is building its first UK resort on the old brickfields at Kempston Hardwick. This is the independent local guide to what that means for Bedford — what’s being built, what’s changing, and the businesses worth knowing if you’ve just arrived.
- Construction jobs
- 20,000
- Permanent jobs after
- 8,000
- Opens
- 2031
- Hotel rooms
- 500
The same field, twice over
The London Brick Company worked this land for most of the twentieth century, and in the 1950s recruited heavily from Italy to staff it. That is why Bedford has one of the largest Italian communities in Britain — and why the town already knows what it looks like when thousands of people arrive for work on that particular field.
It went well in some ways and badly in others. Worth remembering as it happens again, on the same ground, at roughly the same scale.
The local directory
22 categories of the things you actually need when you land somewhere new — with honest notes on what each costs locally and what to check.
Start here
What is actually being built at Kempston Hardwick
The theme park, the 500-room hotel, the retail and dining district — what the Universal resort at Kempston Hardwick actually includes, where it is, and when it opens.
Read →Moving to Bedford for work: the practical bits
Registering with a GP, finding a dentist, opening a bank account, sorting a room and working out which bit of town suits you. The admin nobody explains.
Read →Getting around Bedford and out to the site
The Marston Vale line, the two Bedford stations, the A421, and how to reach the Universal site without a car.
Read →For Bedford businesses
Twenty thousand people are about to need a barber
Most of the people arriving over the next five years will not be from Bedford. They will not know your shop exists, and they will spend their money wherever they first find it.
Free for the first businesses to join, and we’ll write the listing for you — you just approve it. No cut of your trade, ever.
The rest of the network
- Room Rent
Rooms to rent, measured by real distance to the site.
- Universal Workers
Jobs, roles, cards and tickets for the build.
Universal in Bedford: common questions
- What is being built in Bedford?
- Universal United Kingdom Resort — a theme park with several themed lands, a 500-room hotel, and a retail, dining and entertainment district, on the former London Brick Company brickfields at Kempston Hardwick. It is the first Universal-branded theme park and resort in the UK and Europe.
- When does it open?
- 2031. The Special Development Order permitting it came into force on 2026-01-12 and enabling works began the same month, giving a construction programme of roughly five years.
- How many jobs will it create?
- Around 20,000 during construction and roughly 8,000 permanent roles once it is operating. Universal has pledged that about 80 per cent of employees will come from Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas.
- Is this site run by Universal?
- No. We are completely independent and not affiliated with Universal, Comcast or NBCUniversal. Everything we say about the project comes from public sources, which we link. For official news, go to universalukproject.co.uk.
- How do I get my business listed?
- Tell us about it and we will write the listing for you. Free for the first businesses to join, and always clearly labelled as a paid listing once it is. We never take a cut of your trade and we do not sell anything to residents.