Rail parking fears over future UK Universal resort

A new car park was at risk of becoming a park-and-ride site for visitors to a planned Universal Studios resort, a councillor warned.

Conservative councillor for Cranfield and Marston Moretaine, Sue Clark, raised concerns about plans for a two-storey, 490-space car park next to a new East West Rail station in Lidlington, Bedfordshire.

She warned theme park visitors could end up using the car park because the "ideal station" for a park-and-ride at Ridgmont would not yet be completed.

East West Rail said Lidlington would be "a railway station for local rail users" and there were no plans for it to be promoted as a place for Universal visitors to park.

In a social media post, Clark said residents at a recent consultation event had been told the Lidlington car park could be used by people visiting Universal Studios.

The American entertainment giant intends to build a resort at Kempston Hardwick near Bedford.

She added the proposed Ridgmont station, near junction 13 of the M1, depended on about 3,000 new homes being approved at Aspley Guise, but these were not currently allocated in Central Bedfordshire Council's (CBC) local plan.

Clark warned pressure on Lidlington would increase and the village risked becoming "collateral damage" if the station did not go ahead, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In a statement, East West Rail said: "We understand the concerns people have about parking and traffic impacts across the Marston Vale.

"We want to be clear that Lidlington isn't being designed or promoted as a park‑and‑ride, but as a station for local rail users.

"Plans for stations and parking along the route, including at Ridgmont, are still being developed.

"We continue to work closely with CBC and other partners to ensure that when stations open, parking provision is balanced and appropriate across the network."

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