Mid Bedfordshire MP Blake Stephenson joined a meeting with a Government minister and local councils in Bedford to discuss plans for the Universal UK Resort theme park.
Blake has been calling on the Government to pull together a joined-up approach to infrastructure for the upcoming project, and says this is a 'welcome first step', but stressed the importance of wider thinking around other development in the area.
The Universal theme park sits within Blake's Mid Bedfordshire constituency, and the meeting was held in nearby Bedford with Minister Stephanie Peacock, and representatives from Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, Huntingdonshire District Council, Luton Borough Council, Milton Keynes City Council, North Northamptonshire Council, and West Northamptonshire Council. Mohammad Yasin, the MP for the constituency neighbouring the theme park, was also in attendance.
Blake Stephenson, the MP for Mid Bedfordshire, said: "I've always been clear from the start that Universal can be an absolute gamechanger for Bedfordshire and I'm hugely excited about the opportunities it will bring to our area.
"But we need to understand Universal will also have an impact on local people, and it's not the only development going on in a very small corner of Bedfordshire. We also have thousands of new homes planned, East-West Rail and a potential data centre, so it's vital we have a joined up approach to the infrastructure and don't treat each project individually.
"So this meeting was a welcome first step by bringing together councils from across the region to discuss the opportunities we can make the most of, but also how we limit the disruption local people will face. That's why I was keen to stress the importance of upgrading Junction 13 of the M1."
