LEISURE: An aerial view of what the Nirah complex could look like
Those behind a multi-million pound research and conservation project say they are ‘significantly further forward’ with plans.
Last year we revealed that Nirah - a freshwater aquarium and leisure complex - proposed for land at Stewartby had won a crucial High Court battle allowing it to secure the site at Quest Pit.
This week, Ian Fletcher, general counsel and company secretary of Nirah Holdings Ltd said it had now bought the 200 acre piece of land from Hanson.
He added: “We received the title for owning the land in January this year which was a very very important step.
Since then we have been continuing our efforts to raise funds for the capital.
“These arrangements are taking longer than we might have hoped and the economic climate hasn’t helped but we are cautiously optimistic.”
Mr Fletcher said that the total cost of the project was £500m. Some of the funding has already been received although Mr Fletcher couldn’t say how much.
The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) previously agreed a £4m loan. Despite it now being scrapped, Mr Fletcher believes that the obligations by and to EEDA will be taken over by a consortium.
He said that the next stage of the project was to obtain detailed planning permission.
He added: “The board is very aware of the local support and is extremely grateful for the many expressions it has had. We are significantly further forward than we were this time last year.”