On March 24, 2003 the Evening Star gave us some more hope that the Suffolk slope could soon be more of a plan than a pipe dream:

THIS is the first detailed plans of the new tourist resort which could put Suffolk firmly on the winter sports map – all year round!

The Snoasis resort could be built in the former Blue Circle quarry at Great Blakenham and offer year-round winter sports.

The multi-million pound scheme would be a major plus for the area – its promoters describe it as the most important development in the county since Felixstowe container port.

The Snoasis project is just part of a wider scheme to bring new life to Great Blakenham and create one of the most dynamic communities in Suffolk.

Among the plans are the construction of a new railway station on the main line between Ipswich and Norwich and the development of a new business park.

Mid Suffolk Council is due to discuss the planning guidelines for the area at a special meeting in early April, but it is expected that principle of this scale of development will be approved.

The scheme includes a massive indoor snowdome, 525 metres long with a 70 metre drop.

It includes an ice-rink, a leisure centre with restaurants, cinema, and night clubs, four-star hotel and conference centre, ski lodges, a hostel, campsite, and apartments.

It also includes outside facilities including a bobsleigh run, cross-country ski course and a new 18-hole golf course.

The new centre would probably be the home of the British winter sports team, allowing them round-the-calendar training facilities in their own country.

Suffolk-based commercial estate agents EWS have acted for developers the Onslow Group.

"This is probably the most important development proposal to come forward in Suffolk since the Felixstowe Container Port," said EWS director David Lowe.

"It is very much in keeping with regional and local regeneration and planning policies and would help to act as a landmark for the Ipswich-Cambridge corridor."

The estimated cost of the new centre is put at £300 million and construction is expected to last about three years.

A formal planning application will be submitted once the council has agreed planning guidelines for the area.

Onslow Group director Godfrey Spanner said that funding for the project was already available.

nDo you think an all-year winter sports resort is what Suffolk needs? Will this help breath new life into the area? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

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