Eden Project to turn cavern into £30m ‘underground cathedral’
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The Eden Project plans to save a gigantic “cathedral mine” by turning it into a £30 million tourist attraction, bosses have revealed.
The Cornwall botanical site, which has welcomed more than 18 million visitors since opening in 2001, is looking to transform a man-made cavern that lies below the tied Isle of Portland on the English Channel.
It is hoped that the Isle of Portland, which features towering slabs made of limestone that formed 145 million years ago, will form the basis of a new ticketed Eden Portland attraction.
Planners say that the caverns would be turned into an “underground cathedral”, which would contain exhibits on the topics of nature and biodiversity, evolution and extinction.
Efforts to secure the required £30 million from reserves, donations and ministers are being led by Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project.
“It would be a hugely successful, world-class destination that is both a visitor destination as well as a scientific institution,” Sir Tim said.
“The location is to die for. It’s beautiful and it’s beguiling. I have zero doubt about this project, which is what Portland needs.”
The limestone that can be found on St Paul’s Cathedral was taken from the cliffs of the Dorset site, and use of the stone on buildings dates back to Roman times.
However, Sir Tim added he was concerned that the cost of funding for the Portland project may not be met, as time constraints mean work would need to start as soon as possible.
“If we don’t get the support we need, I’m afraid we are just going to have to go. We’ve got other things to do,” he said.
“But, you know what, we will take the Portland idea and we will put it somewhere else because the idea is so good and we haven’t got time to wait.”
Sebastian Brooke, project director of Eden Portland, said the plans were timely because the world was “on the crest of a breaking wave of a mass extinction event”.
The Eden Project is also set to open a new £85 million visitor attraction, which has the provisional title of Eden Project North 1, as soon as next year in Morecambe, Lancashire.
