logo
New £32million Eden Project attraction that will be fully underground to open in the UK

New £32million Eden Project attraction that will be fully underground to open in the UK

The Sun2 days ago
ANOTHER Eden Project is set to open in the UK - but it won't be like any of the others.
On the Jurassic Coast, the plan is for the new attraction to be constructed completely underground.
4
4
While it might be the first time some are hearing of the project, the Eden Project Portland was brought up many years ago but was paused - until now.
The new Eden Project Portland will be a partnership between MEMO and the Eden Project.
Speaking on Radio Solent's Dorset Breakfast show, founder and project director of MEMO, Seb Brooke said: "I believe this is going to happen now, and now is absolutely the moment."
The planned project will be built in South Dorset inside disused mine and quarry tunnels.
It has been called an"underground cathedral" where visitors will explore a combination of the ancient art of stone carving and cutting-edge technology.
The area will be transformed into an immersive space that will tell the story of life on Earth.
The Eden Project will also focus on the threats to biodiversity and how people can work towards a sustainable future.
The cost of the project has been estimated at £32.7million with an opening date planned for 2028.
The first in a series of many consultation events took place in early July 2025.
Around the same time, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expressed his support for the attraction.
The huge new UK attraction opening in 2025 with play areas, live shows and cafes – and it's right on the beach
4
He said it was a "hugely exciting project" and made clear that funding commitments will be made soon.
When the project was discussed in 2018, it was said that the attraction could bring 325,000 visitors a year to the isle and £24million to the local economy.
Up in Morecambe, there is a plan to build an Eden Project, but the opening date has been pushed back by two years.
The new project costing £100m was expected to open next year, but work on the attraction is yet to start.
Plans for the site show three huge egg-shaped structures looking over Morecambe Bay.
Other images of the site reveal planned walkways linking treehouses together as well as other wooden structures.
It will also have a "hyper-real forest" with large installations and an immersive theatre.
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.
Here's more on the Eden Project resort set to open in the UK – with waterfront attractions, play areas and immersive shows.
And another Eden Project attraction that is set to be the 'biggest undercover play area in Europe'.
4
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Margaret's, Cambridge: A quietly brilliant neighbourhood bistro worth travelling for
Margaret's, Cambridge: A quietly brilliant neighbourhood bistro worth travelling for

The Independent

time14 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Margaret's, Cambridge: A quietly brilliant neighbourhood bistro worth travelling for

You get the sense that Margaret's wants to look after you. The restaurant is named after a regular – a long-time guest of its older sibling next door, Restaurant 22 – which says something about the kind of place this is: personal, thoughtful, quietly confident. Restaurant 22, of course, is one of Cambridge 's most prestigious addresses, sitting alongside Midsummer House in the local fine dining hierarchy, complete with its Michelin star. With Margaret's being the younger, more relaxed offshoot, expectations are naturally high. Cambridge isn't exactly a food destination – not yet, anyway – but Margaret's makes a convincing case for venturing north of the city centre, beyond the buzz of Mill Road's independents, for something more grown-up. It's a bistro, technically, though that term doesn't quite do justice to the experience. This is more like being invited to a particularly elegant, slightly formal dinner party – one that costs £65 on weekdays and £75 at the weekend, and where the hosts are serious about seasonal cooking. The menu is tight and set: four courses, with a choice of fish, meat or veg for the main, and a final decision between sweet or savoury. Picky eaters should probably stay home. For the rest of us – especially those who hate trying to make small talk while weighing up three kinds of pasta – it's a welcome relief. Margaret's puts fresh produce ahead of variety, changing the menu often depending on what their suppliers bring through the door. When we visited, they'd only been open five days and were already tweaking dishes. It's the kind of flexibility that makes you want to become a regular – as Margaret herself clearly has (she'd already been in twice, according to our waitress). The space, like the menu, is understated but carefully composed. Cream walls, brown leather chairs, bare marble tables, a whisper of floral perfume in the air. There's an open kitchen at the back and candlelight flickering at each table. It's intimate, not precious – the kind of place where you can turn your head and see what the chef's up to, while still sinking into your seat with a glass of wine. We began with olives, and not just any: plump, glossy, meaty green beauties, easily the best I've had. A promising start, followed by soft focaccia with broad bean pesto and hummus – all very good – but it was the sweet, pickled pepper paste pooled in our olive oil that made me quietly emotional. Even the wine felt thoughtful. A Sauvignon Blanc with a surprising tropical note added depth to the usually dry classic – a small but telling detail. Lamb with cumin might not be radical, but I've only ever had it in stir-fry form. Here, the combination arrived more artfully: juicy, blushing lamb over a pool of orange-flecked cream, finished with streaks of balsamic. It's a bold, confident plate – the kind that tells you the chef knows exactly what they're doing. There's a sense of balance to the food. It feels light without being stingy, and healthy without preaching. The radishes were improbably long, the butter on the new potatoes smelled gloriously excessive, and a tempura monkfish cheek dipped in lemon, ginger and seaweed was the sort of thing you wish would never end. I could have eaten a dozen. I shouldn't have. Yes, portions are small, but there are enough of them, and served on deep-set little plates that keep you happily fed. The whole experience is paced to make you stop thinking – just sit back and let the glow of the candlelight and the hum of the kitchen lull you into submission. I even checked that my larger dining partner was satisfied. He was. The night ended, as all good meals should, with excellent dessert and even better dessert wine. Lancashire bomb cheese with caramelised onions on malt loaf was so rich and sweet it flirted with pudding territory. Its partner, a 10-year Sandeman Tawny Port, sealed the deal. Meanwhile, a spiced treacle tart with Chateau Villefranche Sauternes had that rare mix of depth and lightness – fresh, fruity, and just a little bit festive. It's easy to see why Margaret keeps coming back – I suspect I will too.

Tourism's impact on York economy grows
Tourism's impact on York economy grows

BBC News

time15 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Tourism's impact on York economy grows

The number of visitors to York has still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels despite the tourism sector being increasingly important to the city's economy, a report has It York, an organisation dedicated to promoting the city as a destination, said tourism contributed £2.01bn to York's economy in 2024 - an increase of 5.04% since than a third (34%) of spending by visitors was in the retail sector, with 27% at food and drink outlets and 25% on Lerigo, data analyst at Make It York, said: "It's no exaggeration to say that York has something for everyone." At 9.4m, annual visitor numbers to the city were still below pre-pandemic levels, he added, but wasn't able to identify any specific reasons "why the growth isn't happening as quick as possible".Mr Lerigo added: "We're definitely seeing a trend more towards growth in domestic tourism particularly, but we've also seen an increase in international tourism as well."According to the report, overseas visitors accounted for nearly a quarter of the economic also highlighted a rise in employment in the tourism sector, with 16,788 employees in 2024, an annual increase of 4.8%. The number of visitors staying overnight in York reached 1.7m in 2024, the report said, adding that it was a "slight" increase on the previous than half of those used serviced accommodation, such as had recently been raised by residents in York about the impact of short-term rental accommodation on the city's housing Lerigo said it was "really important" to find a balance, and avoid "over-tourism", similar to that being seen in It York was beginning to examine social impact and social return of tourism, he added."Economic return is a lot easier to understand the impact of, but there's other things as well and we want to make sure it's sustainable."That work included encouraging visitors to use public transport, including park and ride services."We want to make sure that we're benefitting as many people as we can, both locals and tourists alike." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Miniature railway installed in Glenfield tunnel
Miniature railway installed in Glenfield tunnel

BBC News

time15 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Miniature railway installed in Glenfield tunnel

A miniature railway has been installed in a historic tunnel in Leicester, opening it up to passengers for the first time in almost 100 Railway Tunnel was one mile (1.6km) long when it opened in 1832 and was the longest in the was used to transport coal into the city, and, according to the Leicestershire Industrial History Society, passengers last rode through it in new experience offering a trip on the miniature railway will take place at weekends in July and September. When the railway closed in the 1960s, the tunnel was bought by Leicester City Council for £ Leicestershire Industrial History Society now offers guided tours at certain times of the year. Treasurer Roger Caunt came up with the idea of installing a miniature railway said: "We've already got a miniature railway at the Abbey Pumping Station, and the owner of the track there agreed that we could take track to the tunnel at Glenfield, install it, and leave it there for operation."The Leicestershire Industrial History Society hopes to extend the track, currently just shy of 165ft (50m), to about 250ft (76m).Mr Caunt said: "We want to give the passengers a proper experience of rattling along at a slow speed, which would have been the speed in the early days of the tunnel.""Those trains were not very fast at all, and going through the tunnel would have been a bit arduous for the driver."We understand that they had to, in some cases, have wet rags over their faces, because a mile long of smoke and steam is a lot to inhale."Tickets for the miniature railway experience are free, but visitors are asked to make a donation.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store