Eden Project looks North to lay down new roots

£60m centre planned for Morecambe will be like Disneyland coming to Lancashire, says minister

MORECAMBE, a Lancashire seaside town famous for its sweeping sands and the comedian Eric Morecambe, could not be further removed from the biomes of the Eden Project. However, that could be about to change after it emerged that the project wants to build a £60million centre on the site of a former swimming pool in the town.

Jake Berry, a Government minister, last night trumpeted the arrival of the Eden North project saying it was like “Disneyland coming to Lancashire”.

Secret talks about an “Eden North” have been going on since 2016, involving Lancashire county and city councils and Lancaster University. They hope Eden North will open in 2022.

The Eden Project in Cornwall is the UK’S 10th most visited tourist attraction outside London, with a million visitors a year. It is dominated by adjoining domes that house thousands of plants. The largest biome recreates a four-acre tropical forest and a 1.6-acre Mediterranean environment.

The Eden project opened in 2001 and generates millions of pounds for the local economy. Mr Berry, the Northern Powerhouse minister, and David Morris, the local Tory MP, have been in talks over the Eden North plans for nearly a year.

Mr Berry said that if the “globally significant” scientific experiment came North it would be like “a project as prestigious as Disneyland coming to Lancashire”.

He said: “This shows that the Northern Powerhouse is flourishing in every sector and across the whole of the North of England, not just in our cities.

“The Northern Powerhouse is a widely recognised international brand and, when combined with the World Heritage Status landscapes of the Lake District, our national parks and our wonderful coastline, it is helping our visitor economy year on year.

Mr Morris, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, said he was working with the Government on securing more funds. He said: “Once this funding is fully finalised we will be able to give much more detail about the project.

“Eden is an extremely exciting project and will bring a number of opportunities to our area. I have visited the Cornwall Eden Project and spoken with their team and spoken to my Cornish MP colleagues about the Eden impact in their area. If Eden gives only a small percentage of those benefits to our area it will be an educational facility, a tourist attraction and a gamechanger for Morecambe.”

David Harland, chief executive of Eden Project International, said the organisations were “in the early stages of looking at the viability and feasibility” of the project.