MEMO Portland plans revived for former stone quarry
Speaking to Radio Solent's Dorset Breakfast show, Mr Brooke said: "I believe this is going to happen now, and now is absolutely the moment."He said the project had been revived thanks to support from Dorset Council and three universities - Exeter, Nottingham Trent and Bournemouth.He also credited South Dorset MP Lloyd Hatton who, in Prime Minister's Questions, described it as a "world class attraction celebrating the Jurassic Coast and transforming the economy in south Dorset".Similar plans for the quarry have been tabled in the past, backed by the Eden Project's Sir Tim Smit, who remains a MEMO trustee.
Mr Brooke said: "It's still very much on the cards that Eden will run it."If we are successful, it will create about 100 year-round jobs on site, plus another 500 or so indirect jobs in the community."The biodiversity subject is something everyone can get behind."We have a new partnership with the Natural History Museum to bring the subject to a wider audience."Mr Brooke added that government support "is the key"."We've spoken to a lot of philanthropists around the world. "Again and again, the answer is 'come back to us when the government are committed'."It now looks like we are getting very close to that."Details of the consultation are on the MEMO Portland website.
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