The ambitious Bedfordshire projects that never came to be

BBC News

11-04-2025

Once upon a time, Bedfordshire could have been home to a space and sea centre, a giant aquarium and even an F1 racetrack next to the M1 motorway.But the plans all separately fell through and residents were left wondering what could have been through the years. They have once again been given much to think about after the government gave the green light for a Universal theme park on the site of the former Kempston Hardwick brickworks, near Bedford. The attraction is expected to create thousands of jobs, with an opening date of 2031.While Universal looks set to go ahead, here is a snapshot of some of the weird, whacky and wonderful projects that never saw the light of day.
The world's deepest diving tank
RAF Henlow, near Shefford, was due to close in 2017 and become the world's first commercial space and deep sea research and training centre.The £120m Blue Abyss facility was part of a plan to develop a science, innovation and technology park at the base.Plans included the world's biggest 50m deep pool, a hotel and an astronaut training centre, due to be operational by 2020.However, the location was changed to a site in Cornwall when RAF Henlow's closure was pushed back.
The world's largest aquarium
In 2007, plans for the world's largest aquarium in Stewartby were approved on the site of a quarry, close to where Universal has been proposed.The Nirah (National Institute for Research into Aquatic Habitats) aquarium was due to cost £600m and be built in 2012.A large domed complex was planned that would focus on freshwater organisms rather than marine wildlife.However, a lack of investment and delays led to nothing being built and planning permission expired.
Stadium on stilts and an F1 racetrack
In the summer of 2003, businessman John Gurney bought Luton Town as part of a consortium.He wanted the club to rival Manchester United and as part of that came up with several ideas, including building a 70,000-seater stadium, on stilts, with an F1 racetrack on the site, close to junction 10 of the M1.But fans were unhappy with this, as well as a number of other moves made by the consortium, and it left Luton after the club was placed into administrative receivership.
The Kohlerdome
Luton Town are finally due to be leaving Kenilworth Road, moving to a 25,000-seater stadium at Power Court, but Hatters fans from the 1990s are unlikely to forget another ill-fated plan - the Kohlerdome.David Kohler was a property developer who took joint ownership of the football club in 1990.Four years later, he revealed his ambition for the Kohlerdome - a futuristic stadium inspired by stadia from that year's World Cup in the United States. It featured a retractable roof and a movable pitch that could be transported by hovercraft. It was given outline planning permission, contingent on widening the adjacent M1, but was ultimately rejected by the Department of Environment over traffic congestion fears. The High Court then rejected an appeal and Kohler left the club.
Sundon Springs
A few years earlier, in 1988, plans emerged for a site between Toddington and Upper Sundon to become the home of a huge sports and leisure complex, including a stadium to rival Wembley.Sundon Springs would have also featured new shops, an exhibition centre, hotel, theatre and a large car park.However, nearby Harlington residents were unhappy, with fears of traffic congestion and the complex affecting local businesses.Bedfordshire County Council refused planning permission and the large complex never came to be.
The M1 glass aqueduct
In 2003, British Waterways announced the route for a new £150m branch of the Grand Union Canal.It would connect the River Great Ouse at Bedford with the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes.The canal was to be the first waterway built in more than a century and as part of this, a glass aqueduct would have straddled the M1 along the route. While the project for the waterway is still very much planned, it no longer includes the aqueduct.
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