Skip to content
Universal GuideBedfordList your business

Independent · Bedford · Kempston Hardwick

A town of 100,000 is about to build something for 20,000

For anyone arriving in Bedford while Universal builds at Kempston Hardwick. What is changing, and the businesses worth knowing.

I run a Bedford business
A row of tall brick chimneys on the skyline beyond flooded clay pits at the old brickworks
Brickworks chimneys at Chimney Corner, near the old brickfields. Photo: James Wood, CC BY-SA 2.0
Construction jobs
20,000
Permanent jobs after
8,000
Opens
2031
Hotel rooms
500

Bedford this week

All notes

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

28 categories of the things you actually need when you land somewhere new — with honest notes on what each costs locally and what to check.

Browse all →

Trade & site

6

What you need to actually do the job.

Everyday

7

Eating, drinking, shopping and staying human.

Money, motors & admin

9

The admin of moving somewhere new.

Health

3

Registering with a GP, dentist and pharmacy.

Family & community

3

If you have brought people with you.

Run a local business?

Tell us about it and we will write the listing for you to approve.

Start here

The town, and the line to the site

The river and parks most people find first, then the Marston Vale line stations between Bedford and Kempston Hardwick that put the villages a short train ride from the gate.

The River Great Ouse along the Embankment in Bedford, with a tree-lined riverside path
The Embankment, Bedford, along the River Great Ouse. Photo: Ronald Saunders, CC BY-SA 2.0
The white arched suspension footbridge over the river in Bedford, framed by trees
The suspension bridge on the Embankment. Photo: Simon Speed, Public domain
Bedford Castle Mound under snow, with a small pavilion on top
Bedford Castle Mound in the snow. Photo: Paul Farmer, CC BY-SA 2.0
A wide, calm lake edged with trees at Priory Country Park
The lake at Priory Country Park, Bedford. Photo: Yohan euan o4, CC BY-SA 3.0
A single platform and track at Bedford St Johns station, looking north
Bedford St Johns, the Marston Vale line's stop closest to the town centre. Photo: sludgegulper, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Victorian station house with white level-crossing gates at Millbrook station
Millbrook station on the Marston Vale line. Photo: Geoffrey Skelsey, CC BY-SA 4.0
The old brick station building beside the level crossing at Lidlington
The old station building at Lidlington, on the Marston Vale line. Photo: Mr Biz, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Forest Centre and lakeside café building at Marston Vale
The Forest Centre at Marston Vale, a short walk from Millbrook station. Photo: Simon Speed, Public domain
Lakeview Village Hall, a brick building with a clock turret, in Wixams
Lakeview Village Hall, Wixams. Photo: Simon Speed, CC0

Jobs and rooms, as of this hour

Vacancies are read from Universal’s own careers list. Rooms are the ones hosts have actually listed. Both update without a new edition of this guide.

Work

All 11 current vacancies

A bed near the gate

No host has listed a room near Kempston Hardwick yet. The map of drive times is on room-rent.

Rooms by drive time to the site

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.

List your business

The rest of the network

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.