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BUILT ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCE By Ged Henderson and Rob Kelly
Eden Project POSITIVE SOUNDS OVER EDEN
A senior Lancashire County Council official welcomed the new Labour government’s “positive mood music” around the transformational Eden project in Morecambe.
Simon Lawrence, director of growth and regeneration at County Hall, described the eco- tourism plan as an “amazing” project, not just for the seaside town but for the wider region.
Speaking at the 2024 Lancashire Built Environment Conference at Winter Gardens Blackpool, he said Eden was a “once in a generation investment opportunity” and a “catalyst for significant regeneration”.
He was speaking as the new government continued its pre-Budget spending review.
The previous Conservative government promised £50m for the project from its levelling up funds, with Eden having to match that. Simon told the conference that Eden had
effectively reached that target through private sector funding.
He added: “We just need government to continue to demonstrate a commitment to that and that will happen over the next few weeks.”
In an interview with the BBC, which took place on the same day as the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the government would do “everything it can” to make sure the attraction comes to fruition.
However, she stopped short of offering a complete promise that the government investment would be delivered. The Labour administration had repeatedly warned of a “black hole” in the public finances.
She told BBC Radio Lancashire: “We want to see that investment. The local people in Morecambe have been really enthusiastic about it and the chancellor absolutely knows
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
that and we will do everything we can to see what we can do to make that happen.”
The deputy PM said the government’s main priority was on growth, adding: “What we can’t have is national debt where it is, and public services on their knees.”
In July the government pledged as much as £2.5m to aid Eden Project Morecambe in securing the services of external contractors to further develop its designs.
And speaking in August, Si Bellamy, chief transformation officer at Eden, said “all our plans remain on track” with the £100m attraction now “in the delivery phase”.
Speaking at the Built Environment Conference, Simon Lawrence also gave an update on other ‘big ticket’ projects being delivered in Lancashire and their potential impact on the county’s fortunes.
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