Huge £100million beachfront attraction with indoor forests and treehouses forced to delay opening date
The new project costing £100m was expected to open in 2026, but work on the attraction is yet to start.
5
With changes still being made on the design details, Eden Project Morecambe is now expected to open in 2028 - two years later than originally planned.
According to the BBC, Local Government Minister Alex Norris confirmed all allocated funding for the project would be in place by early 2026, when building work is likely to get under way.
Despite the delay, an updated report has said that "work has been progressing".
There will also be a big meeting on June 4 to discuss the Eden Project with Lancaster City Council's budget and performance panel.
The Eden Project Morecambe was first given official government approval back in March 2023.
It also secured £50million in Levelling Up funding to allow work to commence on the £100million project.
The project was originally named Eden Project North, and the hope was that it would have the same success as the Eden Project in Cornwall, which opened in 2001.
Plans for the site are very impressive, showing three huge egg-shaped structures looking over the bay.
Other images of the potential site reveal walkways linking treehouses, as well as other wooden structures.
Once completed, the new Eden Project will be home to a "hyper-real forest" with large installations and immersive theatre.
The new £130million Eden Project attraction set to open in the UK
5
The plans also reveal a "Bay Glade" with a well-being landscape and a Natural Observatory for research and education.
There will also be an exhibition area and meeting point for guests named the Bay Hall.
The attraction will also have children's play areas, restaurants, cafes and a gift shop.
The Eden Project website states: " Eden Project Morecambe will be a destination that combines indoor and outdoor experiences, connecting people with the internationally-significant natural environment of Morecambe Bay while also enhancing wellbeing.
"Eden Project Morecambe will combine exhibits, performance, learning, play, immersive experiences, world-class horticulture, live music, art, food, beverage and retail spaces, all integrated as essential parts of the overall experience."
5
The site in Morecambe isn't the only one set to open in the UK, there's plans to build another Eden Project in Dundee.
The Eden Project Dundee was also expected to open in 2026, but has been pushed back to 2030.
The attraction is set to be built along the River Tay and attract as many as 500,000 tourists a year.
Another Eden Project set to open is in Londonderry. This one is set to open this year - two years after the original opening date.
The Eden Project Foyle in Northern Ireland is costing an estimated £67million and is set to have the biggest undercover play area in Europe.
The main attraction will be the Acorn, a "performance area and play space" connected by walkway, with the entire site being the largest undercover play area in Europe.
This includes zip wires, rope bridges, slides, floating boardwalks and paths on the roof that both adults and children can walk along.
Here's more on Morecambe Bay - which got a huge boost from top ITV show.
And a historic UK attraction you can visit now that was named the best in the country by Which?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Company's collapse in Long Eaton left my dad without care'
A woman says she had hours to find alternatives for her 79-year-old dad after the company providing care for him had closed for Homecare, which provides care visits for the elderly and vulnerable and is based in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, has blamed rising costs, the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions and a recruitment crisis in social those affected by the sudden closure is Hayley Woollford's dad Russell, a retired mechanic who served in the Army."It's been a bit scary really because I've been wondering who is going to be looking after me," the 79-year-old told the BBC. Mr Woollford lives with lymphoedema - a condition which affects his mobility. "It just shows how much social services are under pressure - all those people who were looking after me, I don't know what's going to happen to them," he said."It's all happened really quickly, I can't really comprehend it all." His daughter, Hayley, said the short notice of the firm's collapse added to the family's panic in trying to sort alternative care."I've had a really stressful two days trying to organise something for my dad and it's taken a lot out of me," she said."It's been extremely hard, less than 48 hours, there was no need for it, that was the most difficult part of it."I couldn't believe it when my dad rang me. I was at work myself and threw my whole day out of sequence."One employee who lost her job told the BBC some of the company's clients were receiving four calls a day, sometimes from two carers. The woman, who did not want to be named, said some of those she had visited were receiving end-of-life care. 'Recruitment crisis' In a notice of termination email sent to staff - and seen by the BBC - Hygea Homecare blamed a number of factors for its closure. "We've faced mounting pressures that small businesses struggle to weather," it said."Rising costs, the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions, and a challenging economic climate have pushed us beyond what we can sustain. "The ongoing social care recruitment crisis has created additional challenges, with increased competition for skilled staff and rising wage expectations that we simply cannot match whilst maintaining a viable business. "We explored every option we could think of – cutting costs, seeking new opportunities, looking for ways to keep going. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough."A company spokesman told the BBC Hygea Homecare had continued to provide care visits until 22:00 BST on 1 July and all of its clients had been notified of the company's closure by phone or email. They added all relevant bodies had also been made Joss Barnes, cabinet member for adult care at Derbyshire County Council, said: "Since becoming aware of the issue, our teams have helped people who were receiving support from the company to find alternative care to meet their needs."
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Special Banks's beer to mark 150 years in Wolverhampton
A mystery commemorative beer has been produced to mark the 150th and final year of Banks's beer production in comes after Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company announced last October that it would close its Wolverhampton factory, as part of a wider one-off special brew will only be sold at the city's Camra beer and cider festival this summer and event organiser Charlotte Coxon said the brewery was keeping details about it well under brewery was a well-known local landmark, having been producing beer in Wolverhampton since 1875 and Ms Coxon said it was sad this would be the last special edition beer it supplies. On top of closing the factory, the firm also said it would stop producing Banks's Mild and Banks's Sunbeam in Coxon said she has been told about the mystery beer was that it would mark the 150th year of Banks's production and it would not be a dark has been holding a summer beer festival in the city since 1975 and the Banks's factory has been supplying a one-off beer to the event for the last eight Coxon said the local Camra branch had had a "good relationship" with the three-day festival begins on 24 July at Wolverhampton Arts Centre and Ms Coxon - who, along with everyone else, will not get a chance to taste the mystery beer until then - said she expected the brew to be very popular. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Plans for Wakefield shopping centre revamp approved
Plans for a major revamp of one of Wakefield's main shopping centres have been have backed a scheme proposing to upgrade 22 "out-of-date" retail units at The of the shops earmarked for improvements are on All Saints Walk, which connects the east and west part of the shopping centre. The proposal includes installing new cladding, repainting concrete panels and fitting black windows to give the stores "a contemporary aesthetic." A planning statement submitted on behalf of centre owner Zahid Iqbal said: "The proposal aims to renovate existing out-of-date and non-matching store fronts."A lot of these stores are vacant and the proposal aims to bring more business into the eastern part of The Ridings shopping centre."The design is aimed at providing the client and area with an exceptionally high quality and aesthetically pleasing commercial revamp to improve local business as most of the stores are not owned by major brands."The proposed development aims to refresh the existing facades and store fronts which currently look mismatched and old. Planning officers said the scheme would create "a more harmonious streetscape" while the proposed materials and finishes were "of high quality and appropriate to the host building and wider street scene". The Labour-run Wakefield Council backed out of buying the shopping centre in December 2022 after it had been considering taking control as part of plans to regenerate city centre senior councillors had said financial pressures meant it was "not the time or the place" to buy the centre and cabinet members instead agreed to try to find a third-party buyer and work in partnership to redevelop The was bought by Yorkshire businessman Zahid Iqbal in March 2023, according to the Local Democracy Reporting to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
