Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

David Morris Excerpts

Monday 8th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con) [V]]

We all understand the maelstrom in which the Chancellor is operating and must congratulate him on his efforts to deal with the immediacy of the crisis. Despite this, I was somewhat disappointed that there was no reference to Morecambe’s Eden Project North.

Eden Project North meets all the Prime Minister’s policy priorities: it can be an exemplar project in terms of levelling up. As the project is shovel-ready, it is now possible that workers can be on-site this year, with immediate gains, demonstrating the green shoots of recovery from covid-19 and being a showcase for the Government’s commitments to COP26 in Glasgow in November. Eden Project North is precisely the type of project that the Government should be backing. Three Prime Ministers and four Chancellors have agreed with this, as did the Minister in my recent Adjournment debate.

The benefits and employment opportunities are obvious. Morecambe has a vibrant creative arts and tourism sector, and Eden will complement that as it has a proven track record of hosting arts and tourism events at its Cornwall site. I have submitted to the Treasury a private letter signed by 46 MPs from all areas of the UK, not just the north-west, to back Eden Project North, and almost 100 businesses in the wider Morecambe area have also signed a petition to Parliament. It seems that if there is any project to change lives, this is one that should be endorsed. I urge the Government to back this project as we emerge out of the pandemic crisis.

The levelling-up fund is good but is capped at £20 million per district, not per seat, with multiple restrictions on use and existing funding streams now seemingly being redirected through a levelling-up bank in Leeds yet to be implemented. How can Eden Project North access this scheme, especially as it has already been endorsed by the Government and can only apply in two years’ time through a council that will be abolished in the next 12 months? The levelling-up funds are not enough for Eden Project North unless they can be applied through an infrastructure scheme for £30 million to £50 million, seemingly only for roads. There needs to be more clarity on the levelling-up prospectus and I call on the Government to match-fund the £55 million Eden has on the table to get the bulldozers and builders to work on Eden Project North in Morecambe sooner rather than later.