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21.01.03
Plans for Eden's next stage move
to design phase
The Eden Project’s next stage – including the creation
of its third biome – has come a step closer with the
start of detailed design work.
The award winning Millennium Commission funded project unveiled
its ideas for further development in October. Now Eden has
announced details of the team that will work on turning those
initial plans into detailed proposals – ready to be submitted
for planning approval in the spring.
Managing Director Gaynor Coley said: “This is an exciting
moment in the development of Eden. The ‘Eden Effect’
has already contributed over £155 million to the local
economy over the last year and our challenge is to capture
and repeat that.
“We have a vision of how Eden can evolve and over the
next few months the development team will be working on practical,
viable plans for how we can turn that vision into reality
and match – or, better still, exceed – the quality
of what has already been created here.
“Visitor comfort and sustainability will be at the heart
of the next phase. However, Eden is about more than just a
philosophy, it is about real commitment to principles and
we are passionate about this being reflected in how we build
and expand the project.”
The next stage of Eden’s capital development is expected
to cost £75 million. Included in those plans are a new
Dry Tropics biome, the ‘Learning Lift’ Education
For All building, covered walkways, a Field Centre, additional
accommodation for horticultural staff, student training facilities
and further dramatic exhibition areas.
Producing the feasibility study together with detailed design
and planning proposals to decide whether such an ambitious
expansion is possible will itself cost around £2.85
million. Up to £1.425 million towards the cost of developing
the proposals will be funded by the South West Regional Development
Agency.
The South West RDA’s Head of Operations for Cornwall,
Stephen Bohane, said: “The Eden Project has already exceeded
all expectations in its first phase. It has become not just
a landmark within Cornwall but for the whole of the UK in
terms of quality and inspiration.
“It has also, of course, become very significant in
helping to drive Cornwall’s economic renaissance and
it is important that the South West’s RDA helps Eden
to continue that role and move it even further forward.”
Further funding is being provided through Objective One,
with a £1,006,892 grant from the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF) and a further £53,337 through the European
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF).
Commenting on the grant, Objective One Programme Director
Carleen Kelemen said: “The future plans for the Eden Project
are really exciting. This funding is to ensure that studies
and reports are generated so that any future investment in
this amazing project will continue to have economic and environmental
benefits for the whole of Cornwall.”
The work of the Development Team that doesn’t qualify
for grant aid is being funded direct by the Eden Project,
as part of the collaboration with its funders.
Leading the Eden Development Team will be Tim Carter from
Davis, Langdon & Everest. He explained that the team face
a tight timescale.
“The money from one of our potential principal funders
needs to be spent by the end of 2004. In order to achieve
that, we need to apply for planning permission by March in
order to make a start on site by July.
“A substantial part of the next stage of development
will then be finished in time to meet the funding deadline,
with the entire scheme being completed by late 2005 or early
2006.”
Tim added: “Phase one is going to be a tough act to
follow. This is going to be very much more difficult because
this time we’ll have a pit that’s got two million
visitors going through it each year. The logistical problems
for this stage will be on a completely different level.”
Other members of the team that will be taking Eden forward
include Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners – architects
for the now-famous original biomes – structural engineers
Anthony Hunt Associates Ltd, landscape architects Land Use
Consultants, services engineers Buro-Happold, traffic consultants
Colin Buchanan & Partners and designers Haskoll. The contractors
for the work will be MacAlpine Joint Venture.
Eden’s work on its next stage has already involved exploring
alternative modes of access and transport, in close collaboration
with the local community, the railway services, coach operators
and SUSTRANS.
Tim Carter added: “We will, if anything, be increasing
the emphasis on sustainability. That and waste management
– making Eden waste neutral in terms of what comes in
and out of the site – will continue to be major drivers
in everything we do.”
Gaynor Coley added that the aim of the next stage is to maintain,
not increase, Eden’s current level of two million visitors
per year – which has already made it Britain’s third
most visited paid for tourist attraction. Projections show
that the Eden Project, in the next 10 years, could contribute
up to £2 billion in additional revenue for Cornwall.
Editor's notes:
The Millennium Commission grant contributed £43 million to the £86 million cost of the Eden
Project.
Project summary:
| 1. |
The Eden Development
Team aim to capitalise on the initial success of the Eden
Project, including the early work of the Eden Foundation,
by identifying and assessing the feasibility of further capital
investment, |
| 2. |
These
investments are intended to expand the project to accommodate
the 1.25million extra visitors a year being generated to the
site, initially built to accommodate approximately 0.75million. |
| 3. |
Maintaining and consolidating
visitor numbers at 2 million will continue to guarantee benefits
to the Cornish economy. |
| 4. |
Projects
being assessed for viability include:
The Learning Lift
Dry Tropics Biome
On site visitor movement
Engine Room and Visitor Gateway
The Fertile Crescent to include the Field Centre
Traffic Impact Assessment
Environmental Assessment
Waste and re-cycling study
An enhanced plant nursery
Energy study |
| 5. |
In its
first year of opening the Eden Project generated £155
million new money into the Cornish economy. |
| 6. |
In its
second year of operation, with figures marginally ahead of
the preceeding year, those figures are predicted to rise to
£160 million additional revenue on visitor numbers of
2 million. |
| 7. |
In the
next 10 years, the Eden Project has the potential to generate
£2 billion additional revenue into the Cornish economy. |
| 8. |
European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF)
ERDF is one of our four funds that make up the Objective One
Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which is making £314 million of grant funding available for developing
the local economy between 2000 and 2006. ERDF exists to:
Help reduce the gap between development levels
and living standards among the regions and the extent to which
least-favoured regions are lagging behind.
Help redress the main regional imbalances
in the European Community by participating in the development
and structural adjustment of regions whose development is
lagging behind, and the social conversion of regions.
|
| 9. |
European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)
EAGGF is one of the four funds that make up the Objective
One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which
is making £314 million available to support the local
economy between 2000 and 2006. EAGGF aims to:
Help preserve the link between diversified
farming and the land.
Improve and support the competitiveness of
agriculture as a key activity in rural areas.
Ensure the diversification of the economy
in rural areas.
Help to keep thriving communities in rural
areas.
Preserve and improve the environment, the
landscape and the rural heritage. |
This release is available via email: henrietta@dclark.co.uk.
Immediate information may be obtained from
our website: www.edenproject.com
For further information please contact:
Henrietta Lilley, Deborah Clark & Associates Ltd
Tel: 01872 276276
Fax: 01872 274999
e-mail: henrietta@dclark.co.uk
Jason Clark
Communications Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Tel: 01872 241379
Fax: 01872 241388
jason@dclark.co.uk
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