Latest news with #AlexNorris
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Huge £100million beachfront attraction with indoor forests and treehouses forced to delay opening date
THE Eden Project in Morecambe has been pushed back by two years with an even later opening date, The new project costing £100m was expected to open in 2026, but work on the attraction is yet to start. 5 The original opening date has been delayed by two years already Credit: 5 Designs reveal treehouses and huge walkways Credit: Eden Project 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 new Eden Project will look over the coast of Morecambe Bay Credit: Grimshaw Architects 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 Inside will be a hyper-real forest and immersive theatre Credit: Eden Project 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?
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Huge £100million beachfront attraction with indoor forests and treehouses forced to delay opening date
THE Eden Project in Morecambe has been pushed back by two years with an even later 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?
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Redhill community pub The Garibaldi fundraising to buy its site
A community pub in Redhill is continuing to raise funds to purchase its 150-year-old Garibaldi, run on a non-profit basis by volunteers, currently leases its building but has been raising funds to buy the site since 2024, when its owner opted to sell the MP Rebecca Paul praised the "amazing" pub during a House of Commons debate on Monday but warned it was "now at risk" if it could not complete the purchase."Rather ironically, the pub is so much more than bricks and mortar but it needs to buy the bricks and mortar if it is to survive," she said. The community group that has operated the pub since 2017 held an event in May as part of its fundraising told MPs "every bit of profit The Garibaldi makes gets ploughed back into things that benefit the community" and the pub "gives back to the community in so many ways".The Garibaldi was "doing a sterling job of trying to raise the money", the MP bar hosts regular social events and its outdoor space is now a community garden managed by to Paul's comments, minister Alex Norris said he was "very interested in meeting" the MP to discuss what support the government could give The Garibaldi.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Government 'cannot mark own homework on Grenfell'
The government cannot be left "marking its own homework" when it comes to following through on recommendations from the Grenfell Report, MPs have said. In a letter to Housing Secretary Angela Rayner the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee urged independent oversight of progress on building safety. Members branded it "completely unacceptable" that survivors and next of kin of the 72 people who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower disaster "are still awaiting justice for that terrible day". Building safety minister Alex Norris told the committee last month that the government had promised "quarterly reporting" on its website and annual scrutiny in the House of Commons. Campaigners on a range of scandals, including the Grenfell fire and infected blood victims, have previously called for a national oversight mechanism - an independent public body - to be put in place, responsible for collating, analysing and following up on recommendations from public inquiries. They have argued that, without such a body in place, governments can delay the implementation of, or even ignore entirely, recommendations from public inquiries. Backing this call, the committee told ministers: "The clearest, most consistent message we heard in our inquiry was that the government must now be held to account for implementing these recommendations. "We therefore endorse witness calls for the design and implementation of an independent mechanism to ensure that the government is held to account going forward and is not left marking its own homework." Grenfell's 'path to disaster' that led to 72 deaths 'She was so proud to live in Grenfell Tower': The 72 people killed by the fire Grenfell Report: Key findings from the inquiry Florence Eshalomi, the MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green who sits on the housing committee, said survivors and next of kin wanted to see government action "at a pace". "The sense from them was that so much time had been lost and yet nothing had moved on considerably," she told BBC London. "What we are asking is there should be a national oversight mechanism, similar to what's been proposed with Hillsborough, to effectively monitor the different stages of implementation and looking at those recommendations so that we can all track the progress." Appearing before the committee last month, Mr Norris said that, while he recognised the call for an oversight mechanism from campaigners who have been the victims of "scandal and failure of the British state", he "can't make that commitment". He said: "That's a Cabinet Office-run process. I've made the commitment I've made in line with what we published in the inquiry on the publicly available information. The work is ongoing across government on the national oversight mechanism more generally." The committee said an independent oversight mechanism would "reduce the risk of future governments repeating the catastrophic mistakes which have historically led to state-related deaths, from Hillsborough, to the infected blood scandal, to the Grenfell Tower fire itself". Elsewhere in their letter, the MPs also demanded an urgent review of the decision to mandate sprinkler installation in new care homes but not existing ones, and that sufficient funding was provided to ensure all disabled residents in high-rise buildings could have Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans. A government spokesperson said: "The Grenfell Tower tragedy claimed 72 innocent lives in a disaster that should never have happened. "We are acting on all of the Inquiry's findings, working closely with industry, local authorities and the bereaved, survivors and residents, and have committed to updating on progress regularly. "We have also committed to introducing a more robust system to improve the transparency, accessibility and scrutiny of inquiry recommendations received by government." Additional reporting from PA Media. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Government 'cannot mark own homework on Grenfell'
The government cannot be left "marking its own homework" when it comes to following through on recommendations from the Grenfell Report, MPs have a letter to Housing Secretary Angela Rayner the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee urged independent oversight of progress on building branded it "completely unacceptable" that survivors and next of kin of the 72 people who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower disaster "are still awaiting justice for that terrible day".Building safety minister Alex Norris told the committee last month that the government had promised "quarterly reporting" on its website and annual scrutiny in the House of Commons. Campaigners on a range of scandals, including the Grenfell fire and infected blood victims, have previously called for a national oversight mechanism - an independent public body - to be put in place, responsible for collating, analysing and following up on recommendations from public have argued that, without such a body in place, governments can delay the implementation of, or even ignore entirely, recommendations from public this call, the committee told ministers: "The clearest, most consistent message we heard in our inquiry was that the Government must now be held to account for implementing these recommendations."We therefore endorse witness calls for the design and implementation of an independent mechanism to ensure that the government is held to account going forward and is not left marking its own homework." Florence Eshalomi, a Labour MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green who sits on the housing committee, said survivours and next of kin want to see government action "at a pace"."The sense from them was that so much time had been lost and yet nothing had moved on considerably," she told BBC London. "What we are asking is there should be a national oversight mechanism, similar to what's been proposed in the Hillsborough, to effectively monitor the different stages of implementation and looking at those recommendations so that we can all track the progress." 'Catastrophic mistakes' Appearing before the committee last month, Mr Norris said that, while he recognised the call for an oversight mechanism from campaigners who have been victim of "scandal and failure of the British state", he "can't make that commitment".He said: "That's a Cabinet Office-run process. I've made the commitment I've made in line with what we published in the inquiry on the publicly available information. The work is ongoing across government on the national oversight mechanism more generally."The committee said an independent oversight mechanism would "reduce the risk of future governments repeating the catastrophic mistakes which have historically led to state-related deaths, from Hillsborough, to the infected blood scandal, to the Grenfell Tower fire itself".Elsewhere in their letter, the MPs also demanded an urgent review of the decision to mandate sprinkler installation in new care homes but not existing ones, and that sufficient funding is provided to ensure all disabled residents in high-rise buildings can have Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (Peeps).The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has been asked to comment.
