A campaign to raise millions of pounds to create Eden Project in Dundee will start in earnest next year.
The eco visitor attraction was granted planning permission in June. A bridge that will span East Dock Street and the railway line was subsequently approved.
Since then work has been under way to determine the timeline and budget for the project, now officially known as Eden Project Scotland. This has previously been estimated at around £130 million.
A more precise budget will be known early in the new year. Then a two-year campaign to collect the tens of millions required for the project will start after Easter.
Eden Project Scotland hopes of millions from variety of sources
Blair Parkin, chief experience development officer at Eden Project, detailed the work involved.
He said: “The capital programme to create Eden Project Scotland will formally start just after Easter.
“We anticipate that to be about a two-year programme, but who knows with the current economy.
“It will be working with public, private sectors and philanthropic community. There’s a lot of work to do in how we structure it.
“In the first half of next year, we will add to our team in Dundee who will focus on finance and fundraising.
“These might be from one of our partners, from an agency or from our own staff but we’ll be putting a fundraising team together in Scotland for Scotland.”
Transition from feasibility to delivery phase
Funding is already in place for more detailed design work to continue next year, which itself will cost millions of pounds.
The plan is for the gas holder on site to become one of the venues, along with two more buildings, including one made from leftover construction materials.
Meanwhile, there will be community engagement events as the Eden team considers what stories each of the buildings will tell. The schools programme will also expand in 2025.
On site, the main phase of work preparing the ground has been completed by land owners National Grid and SGN.
Eden Project Scotland will be funded through support by governments, the private sector, philanthropists and Eden itself.
Looking ahead to 2025, Mr Parkin added: “We are supported and respected by the entire political spectrum, which we don’t take for granted.
“In 2025, we will turn up our engagement with government.
“We have a project now – we have design, planning permission. Early in the new year we have the budget and timescale.
“We are working on getting the land ready.
“What we will then need are funds available to get on and build it. It’s really becoming tangible.
“At Eden, over the next three months, the project is formally in transition from the feasibility phase to the delivery phase but we don’t know how long the delivery phase will be. The economics of the world will play a major part in that.”
Conversation