SnOasis scheme faces new hold-up
by Pete Hayman | 05 May 2009
Plans to create a multi-million pound indoor winter sports resort on the site of a former quarry at Great Blakenham, near Ipswich, Suffolk, could be delayed by another two years due to a planning technicality.
Developer Onslow Suffolk was finally given the green light for the new £350m SnOasis complex by communities secretary Hazel Blears in November last year, nearly three years after predecessor Ruth Kelly called in the scheme. But the project now faces a further two-year hold up after a clause was omitted from the planning inspectorate's report, which would enable Onslow Suffolk to start work, while drawing up applications for detailed designs over the course of the development.
As a result, the developer now faces the prospect of having to fulfil all reserved matters before work can begin on site, which it says will take two years to complete at a cost of £15m, unless the condition is waived. However, both the Department for Communities and Local Government or Mid Suffolk District Council (MSDC), which previously granted planning consent for the complex before it was called in, argue that the decision for waiving the condition is not theirs to take.
A spokesperson for the SnOasis project, said that the developer was now seeking help from other government departments to help resolve the dispute. He said: "We're currently meeting with ministers from other departments to sort this out. We met with Barbara Follett, the minister for tourism and for the East of England, due to the huge tourism benefits SnOasis will bring, but we've had no joy. We've also recently communicated with the sports minister."
Facilities at the SnOasis complex, which is also set to be the UK's first Centre of Excellence for winter sport, include Europe's largest indoor ski slope, a 400m speed skating track and a 100m dry Bobsleigh push-start track, as well as a multi-purpose sports hall, a health and fitness centre and a 20-lane 10-pin bowling alley. The project, which is now due for completion in early 2013, also features the National Winter Sports Academy with 200-bed hostel, a 350-room, four-star hotel, 17 bars and restaurants, a self-catering holiday village and the UK's first Ice Museum.
Plans to create a multi-million pound indoor winter sports resort on the site of a former quarry at Great Blakenham, near Ipswich, Suffolk, could be delayed by another two years due to a planning technicality. Developer Onslow Suffolk was finally given the green light for the new £350m SnOasis complex by communities secretary Hazel Blears in November last year, nearly three years after predecessor Ruth Kelly called in the scheme.
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