The Eden Project CEO says the project director of their planned new Morecambe attraction was appointed after a "rigorous process" involving more than 60 applicants.
Andy Jasper hailed the announcement that John Pye will lead the local team at the Eden Project Morecambe as "the milestone marker that shows we are now committed to delivery".
Mr Pye, who lives in Preston, was announced on Thursday as the new project director and "employee number one" at the £100m facility scheduled to be built on the central Promenade.
Mr Jasper said he will be the 'face' of the project locally, and will front the delivery of the scheme until its opening date, aimed for 2028.
He also said Mr Pye (below), former head of estates at the Royal Horticultural Society, will start his new job shortly before a 'Community Conversation' event at Morecambe Winter Gardens in June, when he will be introduced to members of the public who attend.
"You have to have somebody who's in Morecambe and he's literally employee number one," said Mr Jasper, speaking to Beyond Radio on Thursday.
LISTEN to our interview with Andy Jasper, CEO of the Eden Project
"He has huge experience of delivering these types of projects. It's a fantastic pedigree.
"We had over 60 applicants and I was delighted to see so much talent in the North of England. It was quite a rigorous process.
"He did an amazing set of interviews, it was almost textbook. All the candidates went through a seven-point process, over a month.
"His track record and pedigree is the thing that stood out, and that he lives in Preston. He's going to be employee number one and I'm so delighted about that."
Mr Jasper also spoke about the news that top firms WSP and Grimshaw will form the external design team for the Eden Project Morecambe.
"I'm hoping that as the project gets into the next phase, we'll start to get more information, a new set of visuals and a model, so people can start to imagine themselves and what it's going to be like when it's standing next to the Midland Hotel," he said.
"It's at the same stage as Eden Project (in Cornwall) was 25 years ago, when people couldn't quite imagine what the experience was going to be like."
The design of the new centre will include biomes - one called The Realm of the Sun: an environment filled with plants and art exhibits, showcasing natural abundance and the rhythms of life linked to the sun, and one The Realm of the Moon: an immersive series of theatrical experiences that bring to life lunar rhythms and tides.
"We'll start to get some detailed design coming out, and we'll be able to share much more information about how the Realm of the Moon sits with the Realm of the Sun," said Mr Jasper.
"You will see the way the experience is being developed, the interior of the project as well as the exterior.
"In my mind, the Realm of the Sun is going to be very much a beautiful sub-tropical lush environment that takes you into a different world.
"The Realm of the Moon will be the counterbalance, helping people focus on the unique aspects of nature in Morecambe and the amazing Morecambe Bay."
He said the detailed design process will lead to "cost certainty" and help the Eden team remain on course to deliver the scheme within a £100m budget.
"Whatever is happening with the design development, and any delays, add to the budget," he said.
"So the key is that we're always focussed to design to the costs. It's what we all do. I'm very confident that we'll be able to do that. The design team really is first class.
"Grimshaw are used to this environment. I'm very very confident."
He also said that raising match funding of £50m, to go alongside the £50m pledged towards the scheme by the government, was in the last "three or four million".
"Fundraising is a fundamental part of this project," he said.
"The thing that really helps that is that everyone I speak to in Morecambe, wants to see Morecambe change for the better. What we've got to do, is allow Morecambe businesses and philanthropists to really get behind this project.
"We've got a few years to raise the last bits of the money and you'll hear much more about that.
"We've got the funding mechanism to go and deliver everything. I think there's three or four million left at the very end. In reality, I want to focus on having as much philanthrophic support in the background and we've already got incredible donors behind it because they believe in Morecambe."
The project is expected to take two years to build, meaning construction could begin on site next year.
"Employee number one is where it starts, then getting presence on site so people can see something happening there," said Mr Jasper.
"It's one of the things I hear all the time, 'when's it going to happen?' With a project director on board, we will start to see a visibility of the project.
"We will be keeping that momentum so we can keep moving towards the target date."
Read more: New boss and design team appointed for Eden Project Morecambe - Beyond Radio
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