Universal theme park deal secured with UK pledge to spend £500m on transport

Attraction at site of former brickworks in Bedford could boost UK economy by 50bn and create 28,000 jobs

The deal to build Universal's new theme park in Bedford was secured with a package of support that included 500m of public investment in rail and road infrastructure, it has emerged.

Comcast, the parent company of Universal, is in negotiations over the final scale of the overall government assistance package, which could be expanded beyond infrastructure investment.