Eden Project Morecambe is coming. A huge new tourist attraction is just years away from reality. Eden has the potential to help breathe new life into a seaside town that had its heyday in the 1950s, and which has seen steady decline in tourism in more recent decades with the closure of the Frontierland amusement park and the short-lived and unsuccessful venture that was the World of Crinkley Bottom in Happy Mount Park. The plan is that the £100m development will be complete by 2026, having been awarded £50m from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund in January 2023. That was a major step in turning the dream into reality. Transforming land on the Promenade into an indoor and outdoor experience that connects people with the wonderful natural environment of Morecambe Bay can only be a positive thing. But there is much to consider if the attraction is to be a success. PLACE-BASED POLICY DESIGN With the multidisciplinary I-Connect project across Lancaster University, we look at policy design affecting key planning areas. I-Connect started when Groundswell Innovation and Jane Dalton, one of Lancaster University’s Entrepreneurs in Residence, who sits on the Lancashire Innovation Board within Lancashire County Council, approached us to see how our participatory research could generate insight and collect data on the impact of Eden Project Morecambe on the county’s infrastructure. The Lancashire 2050 framework, setting out the county’s vision for the future, is presented in departmentalised sections: economy, health, well-being, and education. But things are interconnected. Our project started out examining the ‘last mile’ to Eden, looking at transport issues in the area and seeing if sustainable and inclusive solutions can be found. The case of Eden encourages us to think about how to get there, have a good experience, what the journey looks like. Our stakeholders – Lancashire County Council, Lancaster City Council, the planning office, the sustainability team – were excited about the increased number of visitors and the potential for the local communities, but at the same time unsure that active transport opportunities are ready. The Eden Project is a beacon of sustainability, thinking about the future of the planet. The last thing we want is to make driving the only way to visit. ACTIVE TRANSPORT Taking a human-centred design approach, we gathered data on the lived experience of active and public transport between Lancaster and Morecambe, looking at the experience of citizens walking the route, taking the bus, the train, riding a bike. Instead of surveys or interviews, we invited participants to walk or ride with us, take a bus or the train, track their journeys and document the experience. Applying a sensory ethnography research approach, we recorded the smells, the sights, the sounds, the feelings – of cold or warmth, safety or danger – to capture the whole picture. This field-based research takes us to the place so we can better understand it. You cannot make the policy from the office. It is not possible to decide about the world around you without being in the world. Basing everything on assumptions or purely on your personal experience is not enough. These experiences can help policymakers and local business think about what services need to be implemented to make the experience inclusive and safe. If we walk, for example, on the Greenway between Lancaster and Morecambe, we realise there are limited facilities for people to have a rest, to use the bathroom, enjoy refreshments. 16 |
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