Universal has appointed ESP Utilities Group to design, build, and operate the infrastructure needed to power, heat, and water its planned Bedford resort, and the scale of what’s being built is worth paying attention to.
A New Water Treatment Facility
The headline piece is a brand-new water treatment facility, designed and built by Veolia, that will sit on Universal’s Bedford site and recycle water on-site rather than drawing heavily from the local supply.
It will also reduce the volume of sewage needing to be discharged locally, which matters when you’re building a resort expected to attract millions of visitors a year.
Rainwater capture is also built into the plan, with surface water drainage designed to collect rainfall within new dedicated habitat areas on the site, reducing local flood risk in the process.
ESP For Energy
On the energy side, ESP will deliver an all-electric central energy plant providing low-carbon heating and cooling across the resort, alongside a new primary electricity substation with enough capacity to power not just the Universal development but surrounding local developments too.
Both have been designed with the potential to expand and serve the wider Bedford community as the area grows.
For guests travelling by train, ESP will deliver one of the UK’s largest EV charging facilities on-site, alongside a fleet of electric or low-carbon vehicles transferring guests from local railway stations to the resort.
Universal received planning permission for the Bedford resort in December 2025. The resort is expected to bring nearly £50 billion of economic benefit, 8,000 permanent jobs, and long-awaited transport upgrades to the region.
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