Eden Project hoping for £50m Levelling Up funding boost

Lancaster City Council is hoping to secure £50m from the government's Levelling Up Fund which would cover half of the projected £100m cost of building Eden Project North.

The council hopes Eden can become one of the two £50m awards being given out in the second round of the Levelling Up Fund for projects with a culture and heritage investment theme. 

The bid builds upon the business case submitted to the government in September 2020 and sets out the economic, environmental, social, educational and cultural benefits that Eden Project North will bring to Morecambe and the surrounding region.

Around 300 high-quality green jobs will be directly created by Eden Project North, plus more than 1,000 additional new jobs supported in the region.

Annual visitor numbers are projected to be 740,000 and additional revenue brought into local businesses due to Eden Project North is set to exceed the £50m government investment within months of the project opening.

Alongside Lancaster City Council, the other partners working with the Eden Project on Eden Project North are Lancashire County Council, the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and Lancaster University.

The other £50m of development costs would be sourced from private and philanthropic sources.

Coun Caroline Jackson, leader of Lancaster City Council, said: "Eden Project North provides an outstanding opportunity to reinvent Morecambe for the 21st century. Simply put, it will transform the local economy and have a transformative effect not just on Morecambe but the whole region."

County Councillor Phillippa Williamson, leader of Lancashire County Council, said: "Eden Project North is incredibly exciting and will deliver major economic, social, and cultural benefits for Morecambe, Lancashire, and the North West Region. The support of the community for the project and the commitment of everyone involved in bringing together the proposals has been fantastic."

Planning permission for Eden Project North was unanimously granted by Lancaster City Council in January 2022.