Portland quarry attraction predicted to open by 2028

The disused mines will provide the backdrop for an attraction about biodiversity

Plans for a major new tourist attraction on the Dorset coast, which were first tabled 20 years ago, have been revived.

MEMO Portland says it will utilise the vast disused stone mines on the Portland peninsula to create an attraction celebrating biodiversity.

Founder and project director Seb Brooke said MEMO would create 100 year-round jobs. He predicted it would be open by 2028.

The first in a series of consultation events took place on the peninsular on Friday.

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.

The mine was created by the extraction of Portland stone.

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.