Kempston Hardwick: From Brickworks to Universal Resort
A former brickworks landscape at Kempston Hardwick, south of Bedford, is being transformed into Universal’s first branded theme park and resort in the United Kingdom. For GBHP the interest is regional: a major change in employment, transport and land use within the wider area, not a proven direct impact on Great Brickhill.
From industrial land to a new resort
The Universal United Kingdom Resort is being developed on the former brickworks and adjoining land at Kempston Hardwick in Bedford Borough. The location sits within a landscape shaped by Bedfordshire’s long association with brickmaking and by later transport and development around Stewartby and Wixams.
The use and scale of the site are changing dramatically. The authorised development is planned as an entertainment resort complex with a theme park, visitor accommodation, shops, restaurants and other facilities. It is therefore a striking modern example of former industrial land acquiring an entirely different regional role.
Planning permission and construction
Planning permission was granted through a Government Special Development Order. The order came into force on 12 January 2026 and permits the entertainment resort complex and associated development, subject to its conditions and controls.
Work began on site during 2026. Bedford Borough Council and the project promoter state that opening is planned for 2031. Because the development is still being built, descriptions of its final scale, economic effect and visitor patterns need to distinguish authorised development and current construction from future projections.
Employment and visitor forecasts
The project is expected to become a major employer and visitor destination. Published figures from the promoter and Bedford Borough Council refer to about 20,000 construction jobs, around 8,000 operational jobs initially, and approximately 8.5 million annual visits rising over time.
These are projected outcomes, not measured local effects. They do not show how many jobs will eventually be taken by people from particular towns or villages, and they do not demonstrate a measurable effect on Great Brickhill. They are best read as an indication of the intended regional scale of the development.
Associated transport change
The authorised development includes substantial transport work. Official documents identify road access changes around the A421 and Manor Road, while a larger Wixams railway station is being designed as part of the wider transport response.
Those works connect the resort to the broader Bedford and regional transport network. Detailed road design, station engineering and East West Rail implications belong to the transport history and infrastructure story rather than being duplicated here.
Why it matters as wider-area context
Kempston Hardwick is not in Great Brickhill parish, and no evidence has been found that the resort will have a specific direct effect on the village. Its value to the Visitor collection is as wider context: it is one of the largest contemporary changes to land use and employment in the region within practical travelling distance of Great Brickhill.
Placed alongside the Oxford–Cambridge growth programme and Bedford’s evolving local plan, the resort illustrates the scale of change taking place beyond the parish boundary. Future Great Brickhill evidence can be added if it emerges without anticipating it now.
Current status
| Planning permission | Special Development Order in force from 12 January 2026 |
| Construction | Works started on site in 2026 |
| Planned opening | 2031 |
| GBHP relevance | Wider regional context; no proven Great Brickhill-specific effect |
Sources and further reading
• GOV.UK — Special Development Order: Entertainment Resort Complex in Bedford
• Bedford Borough Council — Universal United Kingdom Resort