EADT reports that:

THE SnOasis ski dome would be one of England's tallest structures, close to the height of the London Eye, and would create a major blot on the landscape, a public inquiry has been told.

Lord Blakenham, who farms land in the area of the proposed site of the winter sports complex and is one of the country's leading businessmen and environmentalists, spoke out against the project yesterday.

If approved by the Government after the inquiry, the SnOasis complex at Great Blakenham will include a huge ski slope, ice rink, a casino, nightclub, a four star 350-bed hotel, 350 chalets and 100 apartments.

The development is part of additional plans that include more than 420 new homes, doubling the size of the village, and a new railway station.

But Lord Blakenham, who has served on the House of Lords select committee for sustainable development, told the inquiry in Ipswich that SnOasis should be refused on environmental and business grounds.

“The ski dome would be one of England's tallest structures, close to the height of the London Eye and considerably taller than St Paul's Cathedral,” he said.

“Regional planning guidelines state that tourism should not be detrimental to the environment, but the ski structure would create visual intrusion by day and light pollution by night.

“There are many listed buildings and 15 of England's finest churches within a few miles radius.”

He added: “The consequence of a collapse of the SnOasis project would not just be financial. It would leave a one-purpose building protruding more than 20 conventional stories above the ridge of one of the higher hills in Suffolk, and it would not be a simple task to take down.

“The risks are real. The Tokyo Snowdome, of exactly the same height, was forced to close for financial reasons. The Japanese are keen skiers, but nonetheless after three years the enthusiasm for the Snowdome waned and it was a long time before any organisation could be found to take on the site, as the cost of pulling it down was the equivalent of over £30m.

“There are alternative uses for the application site that could be very beneficial to Suffolk.”

The inquiry, chaired by planning inspector John Gray, yesterday also heard from John Lawson, a planning expert working for Mid Suffolk District Council who advised the inspector to support SnOasis, the new homes and railway station.

He argued that the developments would be sustainable and were consistent with the relevant national and regional planning policies.

The inquiry, at Ipswich Corn Exchange, is now in its fourteenth day and is expected to last six weeks. It continues today.