The co-founder of the Eden Project, Jonathan Ball, has announced plans for a new visitor attraction for Cornwall, the Great Atlantic Way.
Expected to cost around £25m to build, the new visitor attraction will be based around the story of the weather and will take advantage of 30 miles of Cornwall’s Atlantic coastal area.
The heart of the project will be The Keep, which will be built on reclaimed land at Tiscott Wood in Bude and would become the main gateway to the Great Atlantic Way, being linked to 12 or more separate themed ‘houses’, to be located in Devon and Cornwall.
The house sites will each focus on a particular aspect of the Cornish lifestyle.
Subjects currently under consideration include art, cooking, farming, astronomy surfing and beachcombing.
Some sites are already successful visitor destinations while others will need renovation or investment. Each will be supported by overnight accommodation facilities while visitors will be given the choice to visit one, or several of the houses during their stay.
Sustainable, environmentally-friendly transport will be available for use by visitors, including bicycles, electric cars and horses.
The project is intended to create a visitor destination which is integrated into the local economy while also developing a sustainable model for the management of tourism and leading a new enterprise culture in rural areas.
Ball said: “The effect of the Great Atlantic Way will be to rejuvenate small businesses in the area. If all the existing rural enterprises, the farms, shops, bed and breakfasts and post offices could be helped to take on just one more person, the effect on the prosperity of the region would be considerable.”
The management team will be led by Jonathan Ball along with Ronnie Murning, Eden’s former director of design and development.
Edward Cullinan Architects and Buro Happold Engineers will lead the design team.