NO, it’s not a giant sea creature lurking at the bottom of the ocean - it’s the design for a deep sea research station being developed at the former National Diving Centre near Chepstow.

Scientists announced this week that they are homing in on developing the underwater base in the next four years at the Tidenham Dayhouse Quarry site.

Bristol-based ocean technology and exploration company DEEP unveiled the project on Monday, claiming they aim to “make humans aquatic”.

The diving centre suddenly closed at the start of 2022 amid rumours that it had been bought by an underwater research business, with plans to sink up to £150m into developing deep sea living pods.

Avonmouth-based DEEP have now revealed that they are using the former quarry to develop their Sentinel project – for flexible, modular subsea habitats for a “permanent human presence under the oceans”.

“DEEP completely transforms what we are capable of underwater – and will increase our understanding of life on this planet,” a spokesperson said.

The DEEP campus project will fulfil a similar role to the International Space Station - with scientists able to travel down to depths of 200m to live and work there for up to a month at a time, instead of just a few hours as is currently possible.

Images of the design reveal that the base will feature a central ‘great hall’, with labs in a mezzanine floor above it.

Scientists will live in private bedrooms featuring a single bed with storage built in to the frame and a small side table, while their bathrooms have a fairly spacious shower, alongside a toilet and sink.

Meanwhile, the galley has a dining table, simple kitchen and large windows looking out across the sea floor.

The spokesperson added: “We will be deploying a Sentinel initially in our R&D facility outside Chepstow to test and to satisfy requirements for classification, and to train crews...

“Through our innovative technology DEEP will enable scientists to operate at depth for extended periods of time and we hope, in some small way, will contribute to our understanding of this life-giving environment.”

DEEP president Steve Etherton said: “We need to preserve the oceans. To do that we need to understand them.

“The oceans sit at the centre of many of the generational challenges the world is facing, and they also offer opportunities we have not even begun to comprehend.

“They are the source of at least every other breath we take. They influence the weather. They influence the climate. They influence us. Yet, this life-sustaining ecosystem remains surprisingly unknown. Through our innovative technology DEEP will enable scientists to operate at depth for extended periods of time and we hope, in some small way, will contribute to our understanding of this life-giving environment.”

The company say the base will give extended access to most of the world’s continental shelves, allows access to the entirety of the Epipelagic, or “sunlight”, zone, 200m down.

“Being able to comprehensively explore the full extent of this part of the ocean rather than just performing incursions from the surface will represent a step-change in the way scientists can observe, monitor, and understand the oceans,” it adds.

DEEP president in the US, Sean Wolpert, said being able to be based under the ocean will be an important method of helping to save the habitats.

“Out of sight and out of mind - not having a better understanding of the oceans is no longer an option.

“DEEP is coming out of stealth mode now as we need to take others on this journey. We are already talking to potential international partners, and others with a long-term view of the needs of the planet, who recognise that the up-side for humanity in preserving and husbanding the oceans is now too great to ignore.

“Looking at the themes around the emerging new ocean/blue economy we hear of opportunity and solutions in pharmaceutical research, in carbon capture, in innovative medicines.

“This is about how we can cooperate and can begin to work with the oceans for generations to come. DEEP offer to partners a way to do this hitherto impossible,” he added.