“Every time I see someone comment, 'They're just going to concrete over all the fields,' I know they've probably spent less time researching the project than it took them to write the comment.
The reality couldn't be more different.
Just look at these photos from Universal parks around the world.
Universal doesn't just build roller coasters. They create entire worlds, with millions of pounds invested in landscaping, mature trees, lakes, waterfalls, themed planting, wildlife habitats and incredibly detailed environments. The greenery isn't an afterthought... it's part of the experience.
The Bedford site today is largely an old brickworks, areas of concrete, industrial land and agricultural fields. Yes, there are farmland areas too, but modern intensive farming isn't the untouched wilderness some people imagine. Much of that land is managed to maximise a single crop, with herbicides and pesticides used throughout the year killing everything in its path.
What Universal is proposing is something completely different.
Over the coming years they'll invest tens of millions of pounds creating beautifully landscaped environments filled with thousands of trees, shrubs and plants, new lakes and water features, and habitats designed to support wildlife while giving guests an immersive experience unlike anything else in the UK.
Will there be roads, paths and concrete? Of course there will. It's a world-class theme park, not a nature reserve. But suggesting the whole site will simply become a giant concrete slab ignores everything Universal has done across its parks worldwide.
Before believing the loudest voices in the comments, take a few minutes to look at what Universal has actually built elsewhere. Their track record speaks for itself.
I genuinely can't wait to see what they create here in Bedford.
