Quarry attraction receives £20m funding boost

Plans for a major new tourist attraction on the Dorset coast, telling the story of extinction and biodiversity loss, has received millions of pounds in government funding.

Memo Portland said it would utilise the vast disused stone mines on the Isle of Portland to create the attraction, along with a stonemasonry training centre.

The government has announced funding of £20m for the project, along with financial backing from Dorset Council.

Labour MP for South Dorset, Lloyd Hatton, said it would be a "world-renowned visitor attraction" that would boost the local economy. The first stage is scheduled to open in 2028.

The project has been in progress, in various forms, for more than a decade but has previously run into funding barriers.

Plans for the underground site at Bowers Quarry include carving the mine walls and 30ft pillars and a multi-media experience to "breathe new life into stories of evolution, extinction, and restoration of nature".

There are also hopes to build a "biodiversity beacon" nearby - a building featuring walls carved with the images of extinct species.

Project director Seb Brooke said the project could bring about 100 year-round jobs to the area.

They include three-year-long apprenticeships in stonemasonry, learning to be a banker mason, shaping architectural stones.

"The jobs we're offering local people, it's the whole range from leadership, finance, and retail, to hospitality and visitor interpretation," he said.

"But we will offer training opportunities wherever we can, and the absolute flagship is stonemasonry."

Memo Portland estimates up to 350,000 visitors could visit annually.

Local residents said they were pleased at the prospect of new jobs in the area, but wary that such visitor numbers could put pressure on traffic.

Gislea Elizabeth Smith said: "We've only got one road in. If you've got a lot more traffic coming across there, there's going to be a lot more hold-ups.

"If you've got to go for a hospital appointment or something like that, you're going to have to leave an awful lot earlier to get across."

Doris Haywood, who has lived on the island for 47 years, shared those concerns.

"Something like that could bring tourism to the island and bring it into the spotlight," she said.

"The only thing is, I do agree with a lot of locals about is the infrastructure to and from the island - that might be a stumbling block."

But South Dorset MP Lloyd Hatton said it had the potential to "transform" the local economy.

"This means new visitors coming to both Weymouth and Portland, new well-paid jobs and apprenticeships for local people, and a big boost for hospitality businesses," he added.

Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland said the attraction would celebrate Dorset's "unique geological heritage".

"Memo will put Portland on the map as a global beacon for biodiversity and innovation, while delivering long-term social and economic benefits for the island's community and beyond."

Memo said it was now contacting potential investors and donors to add to the government and council funding.