PORTLAND’S Jurassica project could attract 600,000 visitors and boost the economy by £20m a year, according to the charity behind the ambitious plans.

The £70 million subterranean geological park plan in the former Yeolands quarry on the east side of the island, could see animatronic marine reptiles, fossil displays and virtual reality technology, bringing the history of the Jurassic Coast to life.

Research done by the charity projects between 500,000 - 600,000 visitors will head to the Isle.


Currently the project has a bid in for £16m funding to the Heritage Lottery Fund Award and they will find out in April if their efforts have been successful.
This is to help fund all sorts of studies including an environmental and economical impact study. If this is successful Jurassica will start fundraising for its initial partnership target of £3.4m.


Scheduled to open in 2020 and showcasing world-class paleontological remains including dinosaurs, marine reptiles and plants, the park would be covered with a translucent ‘spider web’ roof.
The project also has the backing of Sir David Attenborough and Eden Project supremo Sir Tim Smit.


Science journalist Michael Hanlon is the brainchild behind the project.
He said: “Funders are individuals and businesses who love the idea, or who see the potential for Dorset, the county where they live and work. There is a substantial market in China for Jurassica, for example.


“Portland receives more than 22,000 international cruise ship visitors a year, and growing – hardly any of which stay in Dorset, let alone Portland. It’s a huge untapped market.”
Jurassica would provide jobs and drive up tourism, Mr Hanlon said.
“The research we have done suggests that a figure somewhere north of £20m, and I believe it will be quite a bit higher than that, will be pumped into the local economy.”


Mr Hanlon said that Jurassica would be the largest immersive prehistoric environment in the world, adding: “You as a visitor will enter a faithful reconstruction of a Jurassic shoreline.
“There will be galleries containing beautiful fossil specimens, displayed in new eye-catching and imaginative ways and we will use the latest anamatronic and virtual reality technologies to bring these amazing creatures back from the dead.”


He added that Dorset was famous for its gigantic marine reptiles, like plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs, that ploughed through the Jurassic and Cretaceous seas.

 

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