Lancaster City Council is set to formally consider the planning application for Eden Project North (EPN) on January 31 2022, the Lancaster Guardian reports. As the decision approaches, the full plans have now been made public, revealing more details about the proposed attraction in Morecambe.
Eden Project North will feature both indoor and outdoor experiences, with the aim of enhancing health and wellbeing and connecting visitors with the natural environment of Morecambe Bay.
According to the planning application, Eden Project North will be based on three core venues within the attraction. This includes Above the Bay: featuring plants and art exhibits that showcase the natural abundance and the rhythms of life linked to the sun and Below the Bay: an immersive series of theatrical experiences that will explore lunar rhythms and tides.
The development will also include a Natural Observatory, where the Eden Project North will undertake research and education programmes.
New pavilions revealed
The redevelopment of the 4.6-hectare site will include the construction of four shell pavilions with connecting structures and landscaping that all take design inspiration from the Bay itself. The aim is for these to be Net Zero Carbon buildings.
The planned shell pavilions are:
- The Bay Hall, featuring exhibition and visitor orientation spaces.
- The Rhythm Machine, home to the Above the Bay and Below the Bay experiences, including a hyper-real forest, an immersive theatre and large-scale sculptures and installations.
- The Bay Glade, an indoor landscape with a focus on wellbeing
- The Natural Observatory, EPN’s main education and research space.
“EPN will be a ticketed visitor attraction including a mix of entertainment and educational facilities provided within four large shell-like superstructures, connected to the ground by a lower structure that wraps around the building, and enhanced by areas of high-quality open space and landscaping,” reads an excerpt from the planning document.
“It will include exhibits, performance space, learning, play and immersive experiences within the development, alongside three café/restaurants, a visitor centre and ancillary retail.”
In addition to the main venue, a 6,000-person capacity outdoor arena is included in the proposals, where evening events will be held during the summer.
Economic benefits
As well as providing an education and fun experience for up to 4,000 visitors a day, the project will also create hundreds of jobs and bring economic benefits to the region. Eden Project North could directly employ almost 400 full-time equivalent employees with up to 280 employees on-site at a time.
It could potentially attract one million visitors per year to the area, with the average annual visitation expected to be around 760,000.
“EPIL [Eden Project International Limited] have chosen to develop in Morecambe because of its unique environmental characteristics,” says the planning document. “The natural environment in and around Morecambe Bay is internationally significant, and the views across Morecambe Bay are amongst the finest in the country.
“Yet the town itself has experienced periods of significant social and economic decline. Eden Project North (EPN) proposes a flagship project, which has a vision to regenerate and re-imagine Morecambe as a seaside resort for the 21st Century. This project has far-reaching environmental, social, and economic ambitions.
“At its heart is an aim to drive regenerative sustainability to deliver positive change for the local community and the local economy.”
If the plans are approved for the £125m project, it is expected to open in 2024.
