The Eden Project Dundee has been granted planning permission by Dundee City Council following an intensive period of community engagement.

The scale of the development — on the site of the former gas works on East Dock Street — meant that the application was approved by a meeting of the full council following a pre-determination hearing at the planning committee.

The Eden Project is working in partnership with Dundee City Council, The Northwood Charitable Trust and the University of Dundee.

Blair Parkin, the Eden Project’s Chief Experience Development Officer, said: “We are delighted that Dundee City Council has granted us planning permission for Eden Project Dundee.

“This is a major milestone for the project and the culmination of years of hard work by the Eden Project team, our partners in Dundee and the community who have engaged with us so generously. This is a project for Dundee, by Dundee and we are incredibly proud of the work we have undertaken together to get the project to this stage.

“We will allow ourselves a moment of celebration but we are well aware there is still lots to do to make Eden Project Dundee a reality. We will now concentrate on working with all our partners, progressing the design, securing investment and continuing to deliver our community programmes in the city.”

Dundee City Council leader, Councillor John Alexander, said: “The Eden Project is a further example of the city’s ambitious regeneration drive.

“The project will help deliver hundreds of jobs, huge visitor numbers and tens of millions of pounds for the local economy. But it will also provide new educational opportunities and seek to build work on efforts within our communities, well beyond the site boundary.

“It will attract people from far and wide, as well as being very much for the citizens of Dundee. It was great to see so many locals helping to shape the proposals which were approved tonight.

“The planning process is only one part of a much longer journey, however. All partners are aware that the hard work really starts now to ensure that we make this world-class, transformative project a reality.”

Professor Iain Gillespie, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee, said, “This is a major step forward for a project that will be transformative for Dundee. We look forward to helping take forward the Eden Project Dundee with our partners.”

Eden Project Dundee will combine exhibitions, performance, learning, play, immersive experiences, world-class horticulture, live music, art, and food, beverage and retail spaces, all integrated as essential parts of the overall experience.