Plans to open Europe’s first Universal theme park by 2031 could be derailed by planning regulations and labour shortages, construction experts have warned.
Universal Studios Bedford is due to open its gates in just six years after a deal was brokered between the American company, the government and the local council.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the development would “put Bedford on the map for millions of people” – striking an optimistic tone amid ongoing market turmoil following more of Donald Trump’s global trade tariffs coming into effect.
The resort is projected to create 28,000 jobs – including 20,000 in construction and a further 8,000 permanent roles at the park – and it is expected to generate nearly £50 billion for the economy by 2055.
It will be one of the largest and most advanced theme parks in Europe, with 8.5 million visitors expected in its first year.
But construction experts have questioned whether the project will be finished by 2031 due to UK planning rules, acute labour shortages and the need to develop wider infrastructure networks.
Entrenched delays in the UK planning system could stop the project from being finished on time, experts have said.
Patrick Hickey, director at Make NW, a development management consultancy, said the six-year turnaround will be “challenging” due to “how long major large-scale regeneration in the country is taking at the moment, particularly pre-construction”.
“As with any large-scale building project at the moment, getting it through the planning process could be a challenge,” he said, adding that local and governmental support will be beneficial.
He added that the project also requires development of roads, railways and buses to “keep the pressure off the local highway and infrastructure network”. These projects will also need to go through planning.
Steve Turner, executive director of the Home Builders Federation, said the “biggest challenge” will be fast-tracking the project through the planning process.
He told The i Paper: “The challenge for government is going to be sorting out the planning and removing those blockages to allow construction work to get on.
“Then it will be down to the construction teams to keep that project on track. Now, if they can do all that, then clearly you’ve got a project that they’ve scoped out and they feel that’s achievable.
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“But the challenge in the UK is that we are hamstrung by delays in the planning system.”
Turner added that the project will be a “major test” of whether Labour’s planning reforms to make it easier and faster to build more homes can be delivered on the ground.
The government has set an ambitious target to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament but that pledge is already in doubt due to a shortage of skilled workers.
Plans to train up new apprentices are a “drop in the ocean” to meet the demand and despite its promise to bring down net migration, construction experts said Labour may be forced to rely on an influx of overseas builders.
This problem will be exacerbated by the development of major infrastructure like Universal, and other green-lit projects including airport expansions.
But Colin Brown, head of planning and development at the Carter Jonas property consultancy, believes Universal is well-placed to meet its deadline because it already controls the site, has a strong relationship with the local authority and crucially – has political backing.
“This situation is quite different from larger road or rail projects, which tend to have a broader impact,” he said.
“Consequently, there is a prospect of achieving the project’s milestones within the specified timeframes, especially if the planning process can be expedited and if any potential legal challenges can be resolved efficiently.”
‘Acute’ shortages of steelworkers and builders
Experts have raised concerns that acute labour shortages in the construction industry could threaten the delivery of major projects like Universal’s new theme park, warning that without urgent investment in skills and training, the sector may struggle to meet growing demand.
David Barnes, head of policy and public affairs at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), welcomed the announcement of the new theme park but warned that the skills shortage is a “significant problem”.
He said: “To deliver new homes and infrastructure projects, there needs to be a significant increase in the number of people entering the industry and more needs to be done to retain them once they’re trained.
“The Government’s recent announcement to train 60,000 more construction workers is clearly positive but will take time to bring about the steady flow of people entering the sector that is so desperately needed now.”
Hickey, of Make NW, said that there are “acute” labour shortages in specific areas of the construction supply chain, including brickwork, steel manufacture steel erection, which could have a “knock-on impact” on other local building projects.
“The supply chain can deliver something like this, but the problem will probably be the knock-on impact locally in Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas,” he added.
Brown said: “There will be significant interest in participating in a project of this nature and scale, however, not many contractors will have the capacity to manage it unless the packages are broken down.
“It is hard to believe that there won’t be some subsequent capacity issues in the regional construction sector, although it would be hard to quantify this currently.”
The Government has been contacted for comment.
UK short of 25,000 bricklayers
The i Paper previously revealed that 25,000 bricklayers, 3,000 extra plumbers, 4,000 additional plasterers, 10,000 more carpenters, and 3,000 new electricians would be needed to meet the Government’s ambitious housing pledge, according to figures from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
Homebuilding Skills Hubs, created to train up the next generation of construction workers through 5,000 apprenticeship places, were a welcome part of the Government’s flagship housing scheme.
But industry insiders warned that even with the fast-track training, the UK’s workforce will still be too small to plug an estimated gap of between 250,000 and 300,000 workers due to the scaling up of the annual housebuilding target.
The Government has said the shortage of construction workers in the UK is a result of “years of underinvestment in skills”.
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