Eden Project

It didn’t even know this was being planned (much to my disgrace) in Morecambe – sounds really exciting….

It has been called Morecambe’s million-dollar question.

Ever since the Eden Project announced plans to open a version of its Cornwall attraction – famed for its giant biodomes – in the Lancashire seaside resort, one topic has dominated conversation in the town: what exactly will our Eden look like?

Now an answer has been offered: it will look like a giant mussel colony.

Architects have revealed the first artist’s impressions of the multi-million pound Eden Project North – and it features five giant mussel-shaped domes stretching out across the famous bay.

Inside the vast glass buildings will be performance spaces, immersive experiences, observatories and pleasure gardens, all inspired by marine life.

David Harland, chief executive of Eden Project International, told The Independent: “The biodomes in Cornwall are the size and shape they are because we were enclosing a rainforest, but we also wanted to be in newspapers around the world and get people saying, ‘I just have to go and see that building.’ That was the aim and we achieved it. And now we will do the same thing in Morecambe.

“So, we have talked about things like what do you find on the beach there? You find mussel colonies and, funnily enough, when you want a structure that has the ability to house gardens and attractions and to give people a unique experience, well, the shape of mussel shells would be perfect.”

Attractions within, he said, would introduce visitors to Earth’s various water worlds in the same way Eden Cornwall – which boats a 16,000 square metre rainforest – introduced people to the planet’s plants and trees.