When it was announced that Universal Pictures, one of the largest movie studios in the world, was opening its first theme park in Bedfordshire, fans were ecstatic.
Social media was filled with questions: Which film franchises will appear? How many rides would there be? Will there be a section dedicated to the Minions?
For the people down the road however, the only real question was whether their new neighbour was going to push them out of their homes.
Residents and businesses in Kempston Hardwick, a small hamlet on the edge of the town of Kempston, have said that they have heard “absolutely nothing” from the council as confusion builds about how the new Universal theme park will affect their day-to-day lives.
Manor Road, which stretches only a mile long and contains a small hamlet of houses and a handful of businesses, separates the two patches of land which Universal have bought to build their park upon.
Amol, the owner of wedding venue The Marquee Bedford, says that while he is excited by the project and the benefits it will have for the area, he feels that the people of Kempston Hardwick have been left out of the process.
“We haven’t had any consultations, if we want to know something we all consult with each other,” Amol said. “We’ve had no contact with the council, absolutely nothing. Maybe they think it doesn’t affect us enough but they’re talking to the village 10 minutes down the road, so why not the people on the road?”
Amol also feels that the roads through and around the proposed site are nowhere near large enough to deal with the congestion that the construction, forecast to last until 2031, will bring.
Some of the houses in the hamlet are already boarded up, with residents saying some of their neighbours have sold their homes to Universal. They say that they themselves have not received any offers from the studio yet or communications from the council.
Rahaul and Colbie are residents of the nearby Kempston and work on Manor Road. The couple, both 28, have had to accelerate their plans to purchase their first home together in the area.
“We’ve been together for a few years now,” says Rahaul, “and this announcement has meant that we’ve had to ramp up our plans because very quickly it’s going to be far too expensive.” Residents said they were worried landlords would buy up property to use as Airbnbs for the thousands of people expected to visit the theme park, pushing up prices.
Rahaul also says that while there was a meeting between a spokesperson from Universal and some local representatives, nothing that was said from the meeting has been passed on to the people of Kempston Hardwick, who rely on news from nearby towns and social media.
Blake Stephenson, the Conservative MP whose Mid Bedfordshire constituency will host the Universal Studios Great Britain, has said that the park will be a “gamechanger” for Bedfordshire and that the feelings of residents were being considered.
“My focus has already turned to infrastructure, including road, rail and accommodation, and ensuring that local communities are engaged … so that the disruption to local people is minimal.
“I’ve been engaging with Universal throughout this process and met them in parliament again this week and I know they’re committed to being a good neighbour to our local communities.”
A spokesperson from Stewartby and Kempston Hardwick parish council said: “As a parish council we have been actively engaged with the executives of Universal to ensure local interests were listened to and represented, to the gain of some infrastructure amendments to the original plans. We have provided regular updates to the parish via our newsletters and Facebook pages.”
“The residents living in Kempston Hardwick, particularly those of Manor Road have a unique set of circumstances with the proposals and have had direct communications with Universal and it would be inappropriate at this stage for the parish council to intervene.”
