World’s deepest pool planned for Cornwall

A £150m project to build the world’s biggest and deepest pool for testing underwater technology and training astronauts is being planned for Cornwall.The Blue Abyss project, which is supported by British astronaut Tim Peake, has been proposed for the Aerohub Enterprise Zone at Cornwall Airport Newquay.Construction of the extreme environment research facility is expected to cost £50m and take 18 months.The centrepiece of Blue Abyss would be an aquatic centre featuring a 50m by 40m steeped pool with a 50m deep shaft. The pool would hold over 42,000 cu m of water, the equivalent of 17 Olympic size swimming pools.The brainchild of ex-forces diving instructor and management consultant John Vickers, the pool would also be aimed at the offshore energy, maritime defence, ocean ecology, human life sciences and commercial diving markets, and help in the development of remotely operated subsea robots and mini submersibles.Blue Abyss is in negotiation with Cornwall Council to acquire four adjacent plots on the Aerohub Business Park, next to Cornwall Airport Newquay. The 10-acre site would house the pool, astronaut training centre, human performance centre, hypobaric and hyperbaric chambers, microgravity suite, training centre with six classrooms, workshops, onsite catering and accommodation facilities.The project is being designed by architect Robin Partington and Blue Abyss is in the process of applying for planning permission at the Aerohub Enterprise Zone. If it is given the green light, Blue Abyss could open in 2023.