Everything we know about the new Universal UK theme park

Universal studios has unveiled plans for a new theme park to be located in the UK.

Universal Destinations & Experiences has unveiled plans to build Europe's biggest ever theme park – its first resort in the continent – along with a 500-room hotel and dining area. The plans revealed the park would be open 365 days a year and could bring 20,000 jobs and £50bn to the economy.

Universal Studios Hollywood opened as a theme park in 1964, followed by a Florida resort in 1990. They now have resorts in Singapore, Beijing and Japan. Their parks around the would feature rides inspired by hit franchises including Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Nintendo, Spider-Man, Minions, Shrek and The Simpsons.

Here is everything we know about when and where you may be able to visit the new Universal UK theme park and what attractions you could see.

Location

The new theme park would be located in Bedfordshire. Universal has bought 500 acres of land for the site just south of Bedford between Kempston, Wootton, Stewartby and Wixams. The site is about 60 miles north of London and the nearest railway station would be Kempston Hardwick, which is situated close to Luton airport.

Opening date

There is currently no confirmed date for when the park would open. The proposals for the construction of the resort are estimated to take around six years. This would mean a potential opening date of 2031. However planning permission has not yet been granted.

The plans have been submitted to Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire Councils and according to Universal Destinations & Experiences local business and MPs are supportive of the project. The estimated time for major applications to be completed stands at a minimum of 13 weeks.

Analysis suggests the park will generate 20,000 jobs during the construction period with 5,000 workers on the site at the peak of the project. Once open to the public it is expected to create an initial 8,000 new jobs. The company has made a commitment to pay the living wage to employees.

Possible attractions

Universal Studios theme parks feature rides inspired by hit franchises including Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Nintendo, Spider-Man, Minions, Shrek and The Simpsons. Visitors to the new theme park might expect such attractions as the Jurassic World VelociCoaster, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, the E.T. Adventure ride, Mario Kart, Shrek 4-D, The Cat In The Hat and The Incredible Hulk Coaster.

However the UK does not have the all round warm and sunny weather that Universal Studios' other resorts do, so the extensive splash parks may not be replicated at the Bedfordshire site.

Page Thompson, the company's president in charge of new ventures, has said the park will have a 500-room hotel and a dining area that people can come to even if they don't have a theme park ticket.

He added: "Our intention is that this park would be open 365 days a year, just like all of our other major theme parks. We have a whole series of special events, like our Halloween Horror Nights and carnival parties... and it just allows us to attract people throughout this time."

Read more: Universal UK theme park

• First Universal theme park in Europe to generate '£50bn of economic benefits for UK' (Sky News, 7 min read)

• New Universal Studios theme park could bring £50 billion to UK (Independent, 3 min read)

• Universal Says Proposed UK Theme Park & Resort Will Give $53B Boost To Country’s Economy (Deadline, 2 min read)