Eden Project hit by severe flooding

Novmeber 17, 2010

The Eden Project in Cornwall is closed to visitors after last night’s heavy rain caused severe flooding to the site.

The worst-affected areas are the Link Building adjoining the two Biomes, the area around the Ice Rink where water reached up to 3ft deep, and the Visitor Centre.

Floodwater is being pumped out of the site near St Austell and staff are working to clean up the debris.

It is the first time in Eden’s 10-year history that it has been shut due to flooding. The Rainforest and Mediterranean Biomes and outdoor collection of more than a million plants are unaffected.

Chris Hastings, site safety manager for Eden, said: “Despite the fact Eden is well-engineered to deal with big volumes of rainwater, we experienced unprecedented rainfall last night and the huge deluge that came through was more than the site could deal with.

“We are assessing the damage and it is worse than we originally anticipated so we are closed at the moment and will review the situation day by day.

“We are pumping water out as quickly as we can while controlling the flow so it doesn’t affect our neighbouring properties.

“Our Eden team are working around the clock and we really appreciate their terrific team spirit. 

"Our thoughts are with the many others in the surrounding area who are also affected by the flooding.”

Visitors can get the latest updates on when Eden will reopen at www.edenproject.com