A government think tank has offered words of advice over plans to pay for the Eden Project in Morecambe.
A report by the Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) - published today - says Lancaster City Council's reasons for subsidising the planned attraction on Morecambe Promenade "could be improved".
This came after the council was required, by law, to explain why the Eden Project Morecambe was deserving of £50.9m in public funds.
A leading councillor said the report - which offers advice to the council, with no legally binding recommendations - was "another important milestone" in bringing the Eden Project to Morecambe.
The council's subsidy is made up of a £50m grant from the government's Levelling Up fund, awarded in January 2023 and held by the council as the accountable body for the funding, and the £900,000 value of the land for the project being sold by the council to Eden Project International.
The overall cost of the initial phase of development, covering construction and fit-out, is estimated to be £100.9m.
The remaining funds would be obtained through a mix of private sources, with Eden aiming to start work on the vacant central promenade site in late 2024 for a proposed opening in 2026.
Today's SAU report said the council "has clearly identified the additionality and change in economic behaviour that will occur as a result of the subsidy" and "covers subsidy design considerations appropriately".
But the report said the council needed to "articulate more clearly" what would happen to the derelict site if Eden didn't go ahead.
"For example, the council could take likely current options for redevelopment and investment of the site more directly into account, as opposed to focusing on previous failed attempts at redevelopment," says the report.
The report also said the council aimed for Eden to "help address a range of social and economic disadvantages in the area".
It said these included "lower life expectancy, poorer health and higher obesity rates, lower educational attainment, lower employment rates and higher rates of crime when measured against regional and national averages".
But the report said it was "difficult to understand how the policy objective (that is, the development of Eden Project Morecambe) will address all the issues raised".
"Consequently, this makes the policy objective, while clearly articulated, poorly linked to the equity rationale it seeks to address," said the report.
It also says the council considered "alternative options to fund Eden Project Morecambe" including "commercial loans or equity investment, alongside other options such as direct delivery or regulation".
"These were discounted as either not feasible – given existing financial and policy constraints – or not able to bridge the viability gap," said the report.
"As such, a subsidy is the only appropriate way to enable Eden Project Morecambe to proceed.
"(The council) considers these alternative options briefly and at a high level, providing limited evidence explaining the need for the subsidy and why it is considered the most appropriate instrument."
The report said the council "concludes that only a project of the size and scale of Eden Project Morecambe is likely to have the impact needed to address the aims set out under the policy objective".
It also said the council could have explained "how reducing costs back down following the re-baselining will be achieved given the statement that there is no reasonable scope to reduce costs further below the original £100.9 million".
The report said the council could "more clearly identify Eden Project Morecambe’s closest competitors".
Councillor Catherine Potter (pictured below), cabinet member with responsibility for the visitor economy, community wealth building and culture, said: “This is another important milestone in the delivery of Eden Project Morecambe and I would like to thank the Subsidy Advice Unit for its thorough assessment of the project and the supporting evidence we provided.
“We will now fully review the content of the report as part of our due diligence of the project and consider any further actions that may be necessary.”
The proposed Eden Project Morecambe is earmarked for 4.8 hectares of land on the central promenade in Morecambe, near the Midland hotel.
The mixed-use complex will be housed in shell-like domes and will combine indoor and outdoor attractions, themed around Morecambe Bay.
The facility is set to include plants, art and interactive exhibits, a concert area for live music events, three cafe/restaurants and a visitor centre.
It has been estimated that the Eden Project Morecambe would pull 740,000 visitors annually, as well as providing around 300 high-quality green jobs, plus more than 1,000 additional new jobs supported in the region.
The existing UK Eden Project visitor attraction in Cornwall has transformed the region's economy since opening in 2000.
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