Jurassica dinosaur museum project gets lottery cash

The trail is being created ahead of the Jurassica attraction which is planned for the disused Portland quarry

Plans for an £80m dinosaur-themed museum in a quarry have been boosted by £37,300 of Heritage Lottery Funding.

The grant will see six hectares of Broadcroft Quarry in Portland, Dorset, restored and opened as a trail.

The two-year project is one of the first steps towards the main Jurassica attraction, which is planned in the 40m (132ft) deep quarry.

The work will see a team of more than 100 volunteers work with conservation experts at the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

Funding for the attraction is being raised through donations, grants and sponsorship from businesses.

A glass and steel roof, about a third the size of the Millennium Dome would be installed over the quarry

Preliminary designs have been drawn up for the subterranean geological park on the World Heritage Site

The proposed subterranean park on the World Heritage Site would see a glass and steel roof, about a third the size of the Millennium Dome, installed over the quarry.

It would house an aquarium with robot swimming plesiosaurs, fossils and interactive displays.

The charity behind the museum, which will cover three geological time periods, said it planned to submit a full planning application later this year.

Sir David Attenborough is the project's patron and the Eden Project's Sir Tim Smit is its trustee. It also has the backing of the Royal Society and the Natural History Museum.

Jurassica is the idea of science writer Michael Hanlon who died last year aged 51 after a heart attack.