U.K. charity plans to built $150m eco-tourism for Victoria’s Alcoa coal mine

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Eden Project, a UK charity plans to redevelop a china clay excavation in Cornwall into a major eco-tourism project. Alcoa’s former coalmine in Anglesea, Victoria will be developed as the tourism hot spot. The enormous site of the former Alcoa coal mine and power plant is set to gain a new life as a destination for adventure tourism attractions and hospitality businesses such as micro-breweries.

The Eden Project and Alcoa announced a plan to turn a portion of the site into a $150m eco-tourism attraction based around Anglesea’s coastal location. They say they will seek input from the community.

Eden Project charity and Alcoa estimate that this multi million project could create 300 full-time jobs and attract thousands of visitors if it gains the support of the community, finds funding via investors and passes the planning and approvals process. The proposal is in its early consultation stages. The chief executive of the Eden Project International, David Harland, said the charity and Alcoa would be seeking local support.

Alcoa closed that this massive site in 2015 after 46 years of operation. The Eden Project in Cornwall, England, turned a former china clay pit into a series of gardens that feature large domes, known as biomes.

This coal mine features the world’s largest indoor rainforest, as well as outdoor gardens and concert facilities. The Eden Project says the tourist attraction has brought £2bn into the regional economy and hosted more than 20 million visitors since 2001.

Its proposal in Anglesea is for an eco-tourism project that would be built alongside Alcoa’s plans to transform the open-cut coalmine into a lake. Harland said it would differ to the Cornwall project and be developed in a way that suited the local environment.

In December 2016, Alcoa Mine has surrendered its 6620 hectares of Crown land. Most of that land has since been incorporated into the Great Otway National Park. Alcoa now leases 787.5 hectares of Crown land and owns 143 hectares in Anglesea. Much of the land will also be used for conservation.

Save Anglesea spokeswoman Emma Fenty said the assurances of the framework that there would be no change to the town boundaries was encouraging and suggested the government had listened to residents’ concerns about dense residential development.

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