Biggleswade Town Council working group to consider 'wish list' of Universal Studios opportunities
A working group is due to be set up by Biggleswade Town Council (BTC) to examine benefits for the town from nearby Universal Studios, which hopes to remain in Bedfordshire for at least 100 years, a meeting heard.
A report into the potential opportunities, benefits, costs and wider implications of the theme park was presented to BTC’s town centre management committee.
Considerations include tourism, hospitality, a museum, a tourist information centre and an orbital bus service to the Universal site, while the development of a sustainable transport corridor is a longer-term possibility, councillors were told.
BTC’s community development manager Ian Campbell explained: “Much of the workforce may need to rely on public transport and be bused in, although the routes don’t exist at the moment between Biggleswade and the theme park location.
“Many of the visitors will be day trippers, as that’s the nature of these destinations. It would be useful if we can persuade people to extend their stay and visit the town, or use it as a base camp.”
Town councillor Michael North was at a Bedfordshire Association of Town and Parish Councils meeting attended by a Universal representative, and said: “They’re talking about 50,000 visitors a day, with a 500-room hotel on site.
“There are 8,000 jobs operating the venue in the longer term, and 20,000 in the short-term during the construction phase.
“The interesting area is the transport and the access to it. There’ll be an expansion of the Wixams railway station, with fast trains into St Pancras. Their thinking is only a quarter of visitors will travel by car, which seems not entirely realistic.”
Town councillor Colin Thomas, who was at the same event, added: “They’re going to have a flyover into the theme park off the A421 to avoid hold-ups back on to the main road.
“They’re also looking to expand from 50,000 visitors a day to 80,000, which is from eight million annually to 12 million during the next ten years. They hope to stay for at least 100 years.
“But the transport problems have to be solved because Universal knows, if people visit for a day and are delayed for hours getting away, they won’t return.”
Town councillor Mark Knight acknowledged: “This is super exciting and from visiting such sites, there can be a wider economic impact.
“We need to have a working group. We need to come up with some very clear ideas and create a wish list, before inviting Universal here.”
Town councillor Sarju Patel, who chairs the committee, said: “The report identifies starting points, but we’ll require more detail about choosing the priorities and committing the resources.
“We need a small number of practical options and the evidence behind them, indicative costs, likely partners and the next steps. That would help separate what BTC can do directly separating it from what depends on Central Bedfordshire Council.
“I suggest early engagement through the town’s business forum and with relevant organisations around jobs, skills, transport and visitor spending. For larger proposals, such as a museum, we’d need evidence on demand and ongoing expenditure, with confirmation any suggested funding could be used.”
The committee agreed to set up a working group to consider potential benefits from the Universal project, and to invite a company representative to a meeting after establishing BTC objectives.