The National Institute for Research into Aquatic Habitats (commonly abbreviated as NIRAH) was a planned freshwater

public aquarium A public aquarium (plural: ''public aquaria'' or ''public Water Zoo'') is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and plant specimens for public viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept b ...

in Stewartby,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

. Originally sited at a 100

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

(250 acre) location, with an expected cost of £350 million, the project failed to meet its planned completion date in 2012. The site of the aquarium was sold in 2015, with an expected loss of £4 million.

History

The project was granted planning permission in 2007, with estimated costs ranging from £350 million to £600 million. The proposed site was a 100

(250 acre) site of a former

brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for ...

in Stewartby,

, with completion expected during 2012. This was not met, with the project hampered by a number of delays and "a lack of investment" until planning permission expired in 2014. The site was sold in June 2015 for an "undisclosed amount".

Public investment

The project had been supported by public money, including more than £1.2 million from the former

Bedfordshire County Council Bedfordshire County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Bedfordshire in England. It was established on 24 January 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 2009. The county council was based in Bedford. In 1997 Luton Borough ...

and £2 million from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The BBC noted in March 2014 that " ither the government, nor the councils, are currently seeking to recover the debt, much of which is secured against the value of the land." Administrators involved in the sale of the land confirmed in June 2015 that there would be "minimal recovery" of the then-£5 million debt.

References

Aquaria in England Public sphere {{zoo-stub