Universal UK: keep safety in front seat on this ride

In late 2025, the planned Universal UK theme park was given the green light by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. The developers’ media factsheet (PDF 292KB) claims the project will create 20,000 new jobs during construction and a further 8,000 once operational; with 80 per cent coming from Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas.

The scale of the project is immense – nearly 500 acres has been purchased in the middle of Bedford in central England. The resort is projected to bring in 8.5 million visitors in its opening year – to a town with less than 200,000 residents. Universal plan to invest in local infrastructure to ensure visitors can be accommodated, stating in their  December newsletter (PDF 122KB) to local residents that the project will help deliver key transportation upgrades, including an expanded railway station nearby and new direct slip roads from the A421.

Immense scale – immense impact

Compliance with Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) requirements will also mean investment in low-carbon, renewable energy use during construction and once the park is operational. Theme parks are by their nature resource intensive, as this article in Sustainable Business Magazine discusses.

Noise and vehicle emissions will also affect local residents for the foreseeable future, and the local newspaper Bedford Today quoted a property expert as saying “The floods of visitors that the theme park will attract is likely to drive out locals but increase the number of holiday homes and rental properties near to the site”.

According to Universal (via BBC) 92 per cent of residents in the Bedford area who responded to its survey of 6,000 people were supportive of the development. Creating new jobs is great news, and the benefits for local hospitality employers may also be worthwhile. But what of the workers?

28,000 new good jobs?

Sustainable business practice involves identifying and managing all possible risks to the workforce – including those throughout the value chain, which will be complex.

The potential for positive impact may be identified early in the planning stages, but needs to be backed up by strategic investment, policy and procedure. 

When the time comes to evaluate the project’s cost-efficiency and likelihood of hitting target dates, it will be workers who face the greatest risks.

• Those in management carry huge responsibilities which may lead to the adverse effects of stress.
• Those carrying out construction could face the results of pressure on managers, and a potential increased risk of injury due to the effects of time pressures.
• Theme park workers, including ride operators and those in hospitality and service roles are often subject to challenging conditions and demanding customers.

Call to action: health and safety professionals

The role of the occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals supporting the development and the final operation will be critical.

For such a large-scale project, stakeholder satisfaction will depend on timeliness of delivery, and senior OSH professionals will need to support senior management in controlling all the risks associated with that pressure.

If senior leaders and investors are swayed by the argument that growth necessitates a less risk-averse approach – roundly rebuffed in The Guardian by IOSH Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Ruth Wilkinson – all professionals supporting the project will need to collaborate and influence an evidence-based approach.

All OSH and sustainability professionals should watch this developing project with interest, regardless of the sector in which they work – the outcomes will be instructive for us all.