Plans for an innovative re-imagining of the Eden Project right here on the North West coast have taken a big step forward this week following a £70 million funding bid.
The team behind Eden Project North – which is set to be a major attraction for Lancashire and is part of a wider project aiming to “re-imagine Morecambe as a seaside resort for the 21st Century” – announced they have submitted a business case of £70m for government funding.
Hoping to replicate the success of Cornwall’s Eden Project, the huge development will focus on marine life.
The Eden Project North seeks to transform the well-known Morecambe coastline by building a “ticketed visitor attraction that is sustainable and transformative, with large indoor environments, housed within iconic pavilions”.
The plans for the new all-year visitor attraction show five shell-shaped domes built on waterfront on the site of Bubbles – a former swimming pool – and appeal to people keen on art, science, adventure, play and performance as well as nature.
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Eden Project North is expected to cost in the region of £125m and the business case says it will provide “significant economic, environmental and social benefits” for the area.
The submission of the business case is said to be a “major milestone” for the project.
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We've submitted a business case for £70m of UK Government funding to help make Eden Project North in Morecambe a reality. The report presents the development as a key driver of the UK’s post-Covid green recovery. pic.twitter.com/GEwO441mt0
Those familiar with the original Eden Project in Cornwall will recognise Eden Project North as a similar attraction combining “exhibits, performance, learning, play, immersive experiences, world-class horticulture, art, food, beverage and retail spaces”.
It hopes to bring together “health and wellbeing” and “wonder and entertainment” through its various zones.
An environment filled with plants and art exhibits will be known as ‘Above the Bay’, while theatrical experiences will bring the tides and lunar rhythms to life in ‘Below the Bay’, and there’ll be bookable wellbeing treatments in The Natural Sanctuary, as well as the Eden Project North’s research and education programmes being housed in The Natural Observatory.
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The Eden Project North is said to be of the key projects in Eden’s plans to expand around the UK and the world.
DCM / Grimshaw Architects
David Harland – Chief Executive at Eden Project – said: “This is a major milestone for Eden Project North, a moment when we have presented the government with what we know is a compliant, comprehensive and compelling case for investment.
“The world has changed beyond measure this year and it is imperative as we come out of the pandemic that our collective focus is on a recovery that stimulates the economy, is environmentally forward looking and creates meaningful, green collar jobs.
“Our firm belief is that Eden Project North does all of these things and will be transformative for Morecambe and the surrounding region.”
The team behind Eden Project North has been working closely with regional partners – the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, Lancaster University, Lancashire County Council and Lancaster City Council – on the delivering the project.
Steve Fogg – Chair of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership – said: “The Eden North project will be a game-changer for the Lancashire economy. The project will undoubtedly deliver substantial economic benefits for our county not only in terms of the opportunities for local businesses to become part of the Eden supply chain, but also as a visitor attraction of national significance, providing a much-needed boost to our tourism and hospitality sector.”
Councillor Dr Erica Lewis – Leader of Lancaster City Council – added: “Eden Project North promises to be a transformative project that will deliver considerable social and economic benefits for Morecambe, the district and the region.”
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Eden Project North is projected to attract around one million visitors a year if given the go-ahead, with work expected to complete in 2023.
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Coronation Street and Emmerdale set for special crossover episode
Danny Jones
Two of Britain’s most legendary TV shows are set to collide as Coronation Street and Emmerdale prepare for an unforgettable crossover.
It’s the sort of thing we’ve imagined plenty of times before, but if we’re being honest, we never actually thought it would come to fruition.
For the first time ever, the iconic Northern soaps will be teaming up to release a special crossover episode early next year.
‘Coronationdale’? ‘Emmerdale Street’? All we know is we’re excited.
Announced on Tuesday, 13 May, ITV confirmed that work on the first-ever Coronation Street and Emmerdale collaboration is now underway.
The flagship serial franchises both have huge nationwide followings in their own right, attracting more than 8 million viewers every week.
Moreover, with both Manc’s much-loved Corrie and its Yorkshire counterpart having faced financial struggles in recent months, this announcement couldn’t have come at a better time.
Writing in an official joint press release, the two shows revealed they will “join forces in an unprecedented, one-off special episode to launch the broadcaster’s new power hour of soap, which begins on ITV1 and STV in January 2026.”
The ‘power hour’ is part of the channel’s plans to readjust its approach to its regular programming laid out earlier this year, with this serving as an eye-catching way to promote the new schedule.
Put it this way, provided they keep the crossovers up North and avoid you know where, this is the kind of thing we can get behind…
Corrie characters reacting to the mere thought of heading to London 🤝 Manc parents whenever one of their kids mentions leaving 0161. 😂
The statement goes on to read: “The distinctive worlds of Emmerdale and Coronation Street will merge for one night only in a ‘mash-up’ of our two favourite communities.”
ITV believe they have come up with an “ingenious way of linking the two universes” before having them return to Greater Manchester and the Dales, respectively.
The episode will be a self-contained one-off special, but one that sees them canonically grounded in the same entertainment world forever and, you never know, if the idea is a hit then it could be the first of many to come.
As if that wasn’t enough, to make the prospect even more interesting, the producers are inviting members of the audience to choose which two characters they would like to meet and interact with in the scene – keep your eyes peeled on their social media for more information.
Coming in January 2026 (specific release date yet to be confirmed), this is not one you want to miss.
We’re also glad to see the pair of long-standing soaps and institutions of British telly have got off to a strong start this year, raking in 124 million streams on ITVX with each episode now available on the streaming platform ahead of each night’s episode.
You can expect a big viewer spike when this one goes out, that’s for sure.
The reason behind the ‘mini Manc tornado’ that blew through Ancoats this month
Danny Jones
If you saw footage of a ‘mini tornado’ ripping through Manchester online this past weekend, no, your eyes weren’t deceiving you: it did happen and, turns out, it’s a pretty strange and rare phenomenon– at least in this part of the world.
They say 0161 has everything but a beach, and now we seemingly have little twisters of our own, they might just have a point.
In all seriousness, footage went viral on social media, being met with equal surprise and alarm as most were understandably confused at how this could even happen in the UK, given our climate isn’t typically used to these kinds of weather events.
For those of you who haven’t seen it already, here’s what it looked like…
Did you see the mini Manc tornado that passed through Ancoats last weekend? 🌪️
We’ll admit that when first heard a so-called tornado had been spotted in Manchester, we pictured a little spiral of leaves and crisps packets in a supermarket car park, but as you can see, it really was much more significant than that.
Reported as having towered as high as 30 metres along Great Ancoats Street, various people saw the startling city centre sight and quickly began querying what the hell they were seeing online.
Despite many dubbing it a tornado, we can confirm it was something slightly different.
What caused the ‘Manchester tornado’?
What you’re looking at is what is colloquially known as a ‘dust devil’; put simply, these are small, rotating columns of air that pick up dust and debris from the ground and obviously resemble a tornado at times, especially when they manage to become as wide and tall as this one did.
As explained by the Met Office, “A dust devil forms due to irregularities caused by temperature contrasts on different surfaces, which then causes rotation of the air and, when there’s dust and debris, you can get these columns of air.”
Here’s another angle:
WATCH: MASSIVE Dust Devil in Manchester, England yesterday!#tornado
We don’t need to tell you that it’s been pretty warm of late (bloody gorgeous, in fact) and, as a result, the chances of creating a proper dust devil are much greater than usual.
The Met Office went on to add: “Unlike tornadoes, dust devils grow upwards from the ground, rather than down from clouds. In the stronger dust devils, a cumulus cloud can be seen at the top of the rising column of warm air.
“They only last a few minutes because cool air is sucked into the base of the rising vortex, cooling the ground and cutting off its heat supply.”
It’s not the only strange meteorological event seen around Greater Manchester recently, either. From the likes of ‘supercell thunderstorm’ and the eerily silent ‘heat lightning’ in late 2023, to the UFO-like swirl seen across various parts of the globe earlier this year.
Emily Sergeant -
17th November 2020 
