Bedfordshire County Council has rejected claims that the NIRAH project, a £300m freshwater aquarium centre planned for Stewartby, Bedfordshire, UK, is in danger of falling through.
Bedfordshire on Sunday, a local newspaper, reported that the company backing the science and leisure complex was about to take the project elsewhere due the council’s refusal to provide £300,000 to help the planning process.
The paper quoted NIRAH’s chair, Peter May, as saying “we have tried our utmost to bring NIRAH to Bedfordshire, but we have come to the end of the road”.
Councillor Madeline Russell, leader of the council, said: “Reports of NIRAH’s demise are premature and wrong. We are currently seeking legal opinion as to whether we are allowed to give NIRAH the extra funding they have requested. We hope to have that opinion shortly.” Details: www.nirah.org