LEP grants £1.2m to advance Eden Project plans

The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership is helping to advance the plans for an Eden Project in the north with £1.2m of funding.

The money will finance the next stage of the design work, further developing the content of the project and conducting the environmental impact and sustainable transport work required for planning consent.

Eden aims to complete this work in time to submit a planning application in 2021, with the project set to open to the public in 2024.

The LEP is one of four regional partners on Eden Project North, along with Lancashire County Council, Lancaster City Council and Lancaster University.

Steve Fogg, chair of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, said: If successful, Eden Project North will provide immense economic benefits to Lancashire and the wider region.

"Eden is an international brand which will not only attract visitors to the area, but will create significant job opportunities directly and indirectly in our local supply chains. The project will inject a much-needed boost in the confidence of some of our key sectors which have been adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and we are pleased we are able to invest some of our growth deal funding to help ensure this project happens in Lancashire."

David Harland, chief executive of Eden Project International, said: "We are hugely grateful to the LEP for their longstanding support of our Eden Project North vision. This generous funding is the latest manifestation of our close and enduring working relationship and we look forward to progressing the planning application, bringing Eden Project North ever closer to reality."

Eden Project North will be a major new exemplar attraction in Morecambe that seeks to reimagine the British seaside resort for the 21st century. The plan is for a year-round destination that combines indoor and outdoor experiences, connecting people with the internationally-significant natural environment of Morecambe Bay while also enhancing wellbeing.

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