First govt cash lands for £100m Eden Project Morecambe

Lancaster City Council has received the first £2.5m of the £50m the UK government pledged towards unlocking the immersive visitor attraction.

The grant monies will be used to secure the services of a main contractor to develop the designs for Eden Project Morecambe. The contractor will be secured through the North West Construction Hub.

The team behind the £100m scheme, which secured planning approval in January 2022, anticipates construction will begin before the end of the year.

Cllr Catherine Potter, Lancaster City Council cabinet member with responsibility for the visitor economy, community wealth building, and culture, said: “We’re all eager to see spades in the ground and there has been an awful lot of work taking place behind the scenes to ensure the project progresses as swiftly as possible.

“Securing this funding is another significant milestone and brings the vision of Eden Project Morecambe one step closer.”

Eden Project North was awarded £50m from the previous government’s Levelling Up Fund in January 2023.

Speaking at the time, then-secretary of state Michael Gove said: “We are firing the starting gun on more than a hundred transformational projects in every corner of the UK that will revitalise communities that have historically been overlooked but are bursting with potential.”

In the case of Eden Project Morecambe, the plan is to turn the 11-acre Seafront Headland site into a family-friendly eco-destination that showcases the relationships between animals, humans, plants and the environment.

It is hoped that the scheme will act as a catalyst for Morecambe’s wider regeneration.

Si Bellamy, the Eden Project’s chief transformation officer, added: “This [funding] is a crucial step on the road to making Eden Project Morecambe a reality. The release of this investment from the Government will enable us to undertake the work needed to ensure that Eden Project Morecambe design is maturing at pace and prepares the way for a site activation.

“We will work closely with the North West Construction Hub and our project partners to ensure that we can secure the services of leading contractors while also representing the best use of public funds.”

The remaining £50m required to deliver the project is “in the advanced stages of being confirmed from private and philanthropic funds”, according to Lancaster City Council, which is delivering the scheme in partnership with Lancashire County Council and Lancaster University.