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Administrative timetable

Request from LCC

8 December 2023: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from LCC concerning a proposed subsidy for Eden Project Morecambe. This request relates to a Subsidy of Particular Interest.

The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of LCCs assessment of whether the subsidy complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.

Information about the subsidy provided by LCC

LCC is proposing to award a subsidy to support the construction of Eden Project Morecambe (EPM), a new transformational visitor attraction in the North of England. The subsidy will enable the regeneration of a derelict site on Morecambes seafront, formerly the Morecambe Super Swimming Stadium, into a new nationally significant cultural and tourism destination featuring spectacular inter-connecting gardens and shell-like pavilions curated with horticulture, art, and exhibits.

The subsidy is designed to address significant deprivation issues in Morecambe, which like many other seaside towns has faced considerable socio-economic challenges over recent decades. Anticipated benefits of the subsidy award include directly creating 274 jobs, and indirectly creating a further 1,083 jobs in the wider economy through visitor expenditure. EPM provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address this decline and deliver permanent change.

The subsidy will be by way of a grant to a special purpose vehicle owned by Eden Project International (EPI). The Eden Trust (parent company) operates as a social enterprise and educational charity with a mission to connect people with the natural world, with a particular focus on wonder, entertainment, and health and wellbeing. The project will also enable collaboration between Eden and Lancaster University resulting in 100 research and development projects with local and regional businesses.

The overall cost of this initial phase of development is estimated to be 100.9 million. LCC intend to award a grant of 50.9 million to EPI. This includes 50 million which LCC have provisionally secured through the Governments Levelling Up Fund which is administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities and 900,000 related to the value of the land for the project being sold by LCC at a peppercorn to EPI. The remaining funding will be obtained from a mix of private sources including debt and philanthropy. The project costs include significant construction expenditure and allowance for fit-out.

The subsidy award will be governed by a Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) between LCC and EPI. The GFA will be prescriptive about the use of the subsidy, and the achievement of outputs and outcomes presented in the business case will be closely monitored during delivery. The GFA will include appropriate clawback provisions so that key assumptions underpinning the value of the subsidy award can be reviewed after a successful period of operation.

The land transfer and the award of Levelling Up Fund will be spent by 31st March 2026.

Information for third parties

If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAUs evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning LCCs proposed subsidy for Eden Project Morecambe, please send your comments before 5pm on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.

Please send your submissions to us at SAU-EdenNorth2023@cma.gov.uk copying the public authority at jnoad@lancaster.gov.uk.

Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).

Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission

• the SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with LCC. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to LCC together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to grant or modify the subsidy or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with LCC using the email address provided above

• the SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance

• for further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit

Contacts

• SAU project team: SAU-EdenNorth2023@cma.gov.uk

• CMA press team: 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk