Eden Project Morecambe is a 'proper use' of public funds - report

The Eden Project in Morecambe is due to open in 2026

A new report on the planned Eden Project Morecambe supports the view that it will be "a proper use of public money", a council says.

The site was allocated £50m by the government in 2023.

Under law, Lancaster City Council was required to submit a report explaining why public funds were required.

Feedback from the government's competition regulator said the council could further expand on some of the economic issues.

Overall, the scheme needs £100m, with the rest coming from private sources.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that while the council had clearly identified the change in economic behaviour that was occur as a result of the subsidy, issues like rival visitor attractions, socio-economic challenges and what would happen to the site if the project did not go ahead could be further explained.

The venue will be located on the Morecambe seafront

Lancaster City Council sent its proposals about a transfer of land valued at £900,000 to the Eden Project Morecambe, originally named the Eden Project North, to the CMA in 2023.

The eco-tourism attraction, which will be a sister site to the Eden Project in Cornwall, is due to open in 2026 after it was allocated £50m from the government's Levelling Up fund a year ago.

In response to the council's report, the feedback from the CMA stated: "While some of the information from the Levelling-Up Fund application is relevant, the assessment could be improved by focusing the information and supporting evidence more clearly on the specific requirements of the subsidy control principles. In addition, we consider that the council could strengthen parts of its assessment."

It added: "While we recognise the difficulty in identifying a beneficiary's closest competitors, in cases where products are as diverse as visitor attractions, the assessment contains a number of contradictory statements on who these are."

But the feedback concluded that it had not been considered necessary to provide the council with any advice about how the proposed subsidy may be modified to ensure compliance with subsidy control requirements.

Councillor Philip Black, the leader of Lancaster City Council, said: "It's a huge step forward to delivering Eden Project Morecambe."

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