SnOasis News

The decade-old, on/off plans for the UK's largest indoor snow centre to date, the £300m SnOasis in Suffolk, are reported to be currently back on track after developers Onslow Suffolk met the Department for Transport and was told to submit a business plan for a railway station at Great Blakenham, near to the proposed site of the centre.

Godfrey Spanner, manager of Onslow Suffolk, who was declared bankrupt in March and stepped down as a director of the company, but appears to remain its main spokesperson, told the BBC that, "The hold-up has been that we have not had the ability to negotiate terms of operating our railway station with a railway operator."

Mr Spanner said a path was now in place to secure a rail operator by 2014, that investors for the overall project are still in place and he believes SnOasis would now open in 2015.

www.snoasis.co.uk

The developer behind an ambitious £350m plan to build the world's largest indoor ski resort in Suffolk has been declared bankrupt. Mr Spanner does not expect this to halt the progress of the development and a spokeswoman for Mid Suffolk District Council, said Mr Spanner's personal financial situation would not impact on the planning consent for the scheme, which remains in force until 31 October 2016.

More on the BBC.

The developer behind the delayed SnOasis winter sports complex is seeking an assurance from the Government that a future operator of East Anglia’s rail network will be required to provide services to a new station.

As part of local planning consent, Onslow Suffolk and its backers are committed to invest in the local transport network and infrastructure around the Great Blakenham site.

The agreement with Mid Suffolk District Council dictates work can only begin on the resort itself when a new train station has been built and operating for six months.

But changes to national transport policy, and the awarding Dutch rail operator Abellio a short-term contract to manage Anglia’s rail network until the next franchise renewal in July 2014, have got developers looking for guarantees the station can be built.

Abellio recently beat Go-Ahead and Stagecoach to win a 29-month contract from February, taking over from National Express, until the next renewal of the franchise - expected to last 15 years.

Onslow Suffolk’s concerns are raised in the same week the company was given updated planning permission, complete with an additional five years leeway to get the project under way in phases.

SnOasis opponents last night accused developers of composing a “convenient cover story” for further delays, but Godfrey Spanner, the man behind Onslow Suffolk, said: “We can’t open Snoasis until a station has been operational for six months. We have to know that there will be a station.

“It wouldn’t be a problem if we knew Abellio would be awarded the franchise and could commit to building, but we just don’t know.

“Understandably, our financiers will be unwilling to start upon a £300 million development in the vain hope that we will have a station.”

Both the Department for Transport and Abellio confirmed the commitment to build a station would feature in the bidding process for the new franchise. Ipswich MP Ben Gummer also stood by the Governement’s decision to award the short-term deal, saying: “This contract is very short but the next franchise renewal in July 2014 is due to last 15 years. The commitment to build a station could well be part of the next franchise.

“The Government is looking to improve the abysmal performance of the railways for commuters. The short contract is there to ensure a complicated process is managed properly and because of the Olympics next year.”

Last night sNOasis Concern chairman, Keith Willetts said: “It seems like a convenient cover story for further delays.

“Which franchise could refuse being paid to build a railway station? It sounds like more smoke and mirrors in a long-running saga.

“Godfrey Spanner points the finger at everyone but himself, giving more excuses for delays but never admitting it was just a daft idea.”

[From EADT]

Groundworks on the giant SnOasis indoor snow centre at Great Blakenham, near Ipswich in Suffolk, England, which were due to finally get underway earlier this spring have been delayed while developer Onslow Suffolk Ltd awaits an official licence to relocate up to 1,000 protected newts from the site.

Unlike many other indoor snow centre developments, Developer Godfrey Spanner says all required funding for the £320m development is in place and contractors are ready to start work, after years of delays getting through the planning process he is just waiting the newt transportation license.

A BBC investigation however reports that Mid Suffolk Council told them that SnOasis cannot go ahead at the quarry site, even with the Newt transportation licence, as they are waiting for detailed plans from Onslow Suffolk Ltd. The council did say they supported the development however and had spent £300,000 of public money to date on the proposals, but that they needed more detailed plans.

The development is planned for a 350 acre site on a former quarry and would include a 415m long indoor snow slope and facilities for most other winter sports.

"We have paid an awful lot of money to get to that level. We are here to do SnOasis. It is not a whim. I am confident it will happen." Mr Spanner told BBC East.

www.snoasis.co.uk

Despite an apparent lack of progress on the site, which has most recently been held up by the need for a newt licence, developer Godfrey Spanner says several key deals have now been signed and all the necessary funding is in place.


Developer Godfrey Spanner at the SnOasis siteWhile his opponents remain unconvinced by the claim, Mr Spanner says he can see nothing to stop the winter sports complex opening to the public in the last quarter of 2014.

Mr Spanner said that a number of contracts had been signed, including those with the park operators and construction partners, and several high-profile companies were interested in sponsoring elements of the sprawling disused quarry site.

He declined to reveal the names of the companies involved and would not release in-depth financial information, but insisted his entire funding package was in place.
An artist's impression of SnOasisAn artist's impression of SnOasis

Mr Spanner said: “I have got everything I need to start the development - with the exception of one piece of paper (the newt licence).

“That’s all I’m waiting for - we get that piece of paper and we are there.”

Mr Spanner said he had received a commitment from European-based partners of euro285 million and another £60 million was also in place.

Mr Spanner added: ”I am completely financed and it’s mostly European money. I have all my money, I have all my team. I have selected my contractors.

"I said seven years ago that I would deliver it - and I will deliver it."

Godfrey Spanner, SnOasis developer

“I have chosen the main contractor and I have operators for the snow dome who are experienced in Dubai and Whistler (in the USA).

“I said seven years ago that I would deliver it - and I will deliver it.”

He said it was now “10 years and one month” since he had handed over the cheque for the original purchase of the former quarry site and that he remained confident that his vision would be realised.

The first stage, once the newt licence is granted, would be to move the newts into newly-created ponds, then carry out archeological work.
Reader poll

A condition of the outline planning permission is that the first construction work must be on the snow dome.

Over the last decade Mr Spanner’s doubters have repeatedly questioned the viability of such a large-scale project, particularly since the credit crunch.

Andrew Stringer, a Green Party county councillor and member of the SnOasis Planning Control Committee, said he had always harboured serious doubts about the scheme.

He said: “I have been on record saying that I would put money on what was in the original plan would never get built and I see no evidence to the contrary yet.”

Keith Willetts, of campaign group SnOasis Concern, said that it was time to start exploring alternative uses of the site that were “more appropriate”.

[From East Anglian Daily Times]

The SnOasis winter sports centre near Ipswich will open by the end of 2014, according to the developers.

Godfrey Spanner, managing director of Onslow Suffolk, says construction of the sports complex is due to begin in September 2011.

"On Christmas Eve we managed to get the legal agreements signed by all parties," said Mr Spanner.

"We're ready to apply for the newt licence to allow us to get on with the ecology during January."

Onslow Suffolk wants to create a £350m complex with an indoor ski slope, ice rink, hotels as well as shops and apartments on the former quarry.

"We acquired the site in 2001 and applied for planning permission in 2004," said Mr Spanner.

"We received consent in 2005, but with conditions that we couldn't meet.

"We've been trying to get through those conditions ever since and in November we finally got the green light."

Mr Spanner says builders are moving on site in February and March, with the plan to build 400 homes in the next five years.

Despite several set backs, Mr Spanner says he is "absolutely, totally confident" that the public will be on the SnOasis snow and ice by 2014.

"We're scheduled for the second quarter of 2014 but at this minute I'm working with the team to see if we couldn't get the snow dome itself operating before that time," he said.

"One of the planning conditions is that we must start the snow dome first, so if we're going to do that we ought to open it up to our athletes and to the public before [the rest of the development is opened].

"It just means that people can't stay on the site, which is our overall intention."

[From BBC]

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.

It was never supposed to end this way. Late last Friday afternoon, the High Court appointed a liquidator to the company behind First Equity Group, an Irish investment firm that worked on projects worth more than €3 billion.

More than 400 investors - mainly wealthy Irish people - had ploughed millions of euro into the group, which operated through a complex series of companies. Their money was invested in everything from apartments in Beverly Hills to villas in France and Italy and a €500 million ski resort in Suffolk.

Many of the projects have stalled and, this weekend, those investors are trying to assess if they will get any of their money back. For the majority of them, the answer will be no.

Construction of the UK’s largest indoor snow centre, the £300m SnOasis project in
Suffolk, will begin in late October with a tentative opening date of Spring 2013, Godfrey Spanner of owners Onslow Suffolk has told local media.

Two potential operators - one British and one German - are reported to be in the running for the right to run the main snow centre, which will be built first.

This will be followed by the visitor accommodation totalling 3,500 beds as well as other services including 17 bars and restaurants, a bowling alley, cinema, post office and library.

Snow + Rock have already agreed to run the anchor retail store within the complex (skiing and climbing equipment specialist.

Negotiations over the main contract to build the £300 million SnOasis winter sports complex in Suffolk are nearing completion, it emerged today.

Godfrey Spanner, of Onslow Suffolk, said work on the construction phase was expected to start towards the end of October and would last 30 months, with the centre due to be ready to open in the spring of 2013.

Under the terms of planning consent for the development, the main snow dome and conference facility are due to be built first, followed by the visitor accommodation - totalling 3,500 beds - and associated services including 17 bars and restaurants.

Two potential operators - one British and one German - are in the running for the right to run the main snow dome.

Read the full article on Evening Star 24.

The great crested newts will be getting ready to move today to a new home on a wooded 50-acre site that stretches out from the shadow of an alpine gorge, where the snow will be under a huge roof and the mountains man-made in Suffolk. The journey towards creating one of the biggest winter sports facilities in the world has been long, winding and strewn with wildlife. Held up for seven years, Snoasis has finally got the go-ahead.

Following long awaited government final approval the UK is to get the world’s first indoor winter sports resort. Work will now commence on the 350 acre, £350 million, privately funded development, bringing enormous economic benefits to the local area and the country as a whole. As well as housing Europe’s largest indoor ski slope SnOasis has been specifically designed to become the country’s first centre of excellence for winter sports athletes. Fourteen different sports disciplines will be brought together and provided with training facilities to match, if not surpass, the best in the world. Also, as a truly unique all-encompassing tourist destination offering an extensive array of sports, leisure and entertainment activities, visitor numbers are projected to be in the region of 650,000 per year. This figure will include: day visitors, short stay holidaymakers, conference delegates and athletes using the Sports Academy.

During the construction phase, which will take 30 months, it is expected that 3,500 jobs will be created. When complete, a further 1,800 full-time equivalent jobs will be provided. These new employment opportunities will stimulate the local economy through spending in shops, increased demand for accommodation and the sourcing of supplies from businesses within the region. Nationally, the full impact of the economic benefits on the construction, manufacturing, tourist and winter sports industries will only be truly understood once the project is underway.

Deemed a ‘Super Site’ by the construction industry means this aspect alone will make it of international importance. Combining the size of the project with the fact that it will generate 75% of its energy from low carbon and renewable technologies puts it at the forefront of construction techniques, which no doubt, will be closely monitored by governments and developers from around the world.

Locally, a package of benefits costing £29 million will be put in place covering a wide range of projects including: improvements to the intersection of the A12 and A14 roads, a new main line Railway Station linking to London Liverpool Street, a 50 acre ecological mitigation area, cycle tracks, the planting of 130,000 trees, plus an array of skills and training initiatives. Also, working in conjunction with a number of education establishments plans are underway to develop programmes aimed at educating students at all levels in disciplines related to the project.

Godfrey Spanner, Managing Director of Onslow Suffolk, the developers of the scheme said:

“At last we have final approval, after eight years and costs running into many millions, we can move forward and give our country something unique to be proud of. SnOasis will now become a reality bringing with it countless opportunities for jobs, the local and national economies, education, athletes and the winter sports industry.

“We have been working hard behind the scenes with various winter sports bodies to attract major competitions to SnOasis. We can confidently say once complete it will host an ever growing number of international events, leading to it becoming a regular venue on the world winter sports circuit. These activities will undoubtedly bring further benefits and kudos to our country.”

SnOasis will be:

The world’s first indoor winter sports resort
Europe’s largest indoor ski slope
The UK’s first Centre of Excellence for winter sport
The UK’s first 400m Ice Speed Skating track
The UK’s first 100m Bobsleigh push start
14 winter sports in one location
The UK’s first 1.5km dedicated Cross-Country Skiing Track
The UK’s first Ice Museum

For more information go to www.snoasis.co.uk

The following elements are included within the SnOasis plan. However, as the project develops more may be added.

Winter Sports

Europe’s largest indoor Ski Slope, 415m long, 70m wide, with a 100m vertical drop to international standard. Capacity for 2,400 skiers per hour
Nursery Slope 100m long by 30m wide with 6-degree pitch
External Ice Rink 60m long by 30m wide with 1,500 spectator seats
400m Speed Skating track
100m Bobsleigh push start track
16m Ice Climbing Wall
1.5km Cross-Country Ski Run

General Sport

Multi purpose sports hall
Health and fitness centre
Triathlon course
Outdoor sports pitches
1.5km Rollerblading track
Swimming pool
10-Pin Bowling (20 lanes)
Tennis
Rowing
Windsurfing
Sailing
Canoeing
Fishing

Education, Entertainment and Accommodation

National Winter Sports Academy with 200-bed hostel
Medical room with first aid facilities
350 room four star hotel and conference centre, capacity for 1,000 delegates
350 self-catering holiday village style 2, 4, 6, bed ski lodges
100 one and two bedroomed apartments
Convenience store
Bank
Post Office
Nightclub
Fun ride based on a tobogganing/bobsleigh theme
17 bars and restaurants
“Try & Buy” sports retail
Saunas & Steam Rooms
Lifestyle retail
Exhibition facilities
Crèche
Skatepark
Entertainment Dome
Ice Museum
Country Club

On November 6th the government will announce the final decision on SnOasis. For more information about the project please go to www.snoasis.co.uk.

A final decision on whether to give the go ahead to the SnOasis indoor ski centre has been set back once again, this time to November 7th.

The remaining arguments against the development, which the UK government has said already it is “minded to accept” following a lengthy public enquiry, relate to environmental issues.

In terms of flora and fauna, the snow centre’s fate appears to rest on the fate of a population of great crested newts, which reside in the area. Natural England have objected to the snow centre development because of these and SnOasis developers have set aside a large area to provide a habitat for the newts.

In terms of overall green credentials, SnOasis says it will be greener than the 40% green target of the London 2012 Olympics.

The final go-ahead, or not, for the SnOasis indoor snow centre in Suffolk is expected to be delivered by Hazel Blears, the British government minister for communities and local government on September 17th. Ms Blears has already said she was minded to approve SnOasis, following a lengthy and acrimonious public enquiry, as long as environmental concerns were fully addressed by developers of the £300 million facility, Onslow Suffolk.

Experts working for Onslow Suffolk are also trying to convince Natural England that sufficient habitat is being provided for the great crested newts. The company has recently offered nine acres of extra land on the Great Blakenham site for the creation of new habitats as part of an existing mitigation area scheme on land bordering the development.

Godfrey Spanner, managing director of Onslow Suffolk told local media,

“We have made great progress. It has always been part of Onslow's mission statement to be as sustainable as possible. Recent concerns on carbon emissions and footprint have put further constraints on development of all types and we and our engineers have gone to extreme lengths to bring to us the very latest technologies available.

“Government guidelines at present are seeking 25per cent renewable energy targets by 2020. We shall be well ahead of those long term requirements in the next few months - at least, I am convinced, on a par with the Olympic Village where obviously government are concentrating these efforts.”

www.snoasis.co.uk

Working and fighting in 40° heat is no-one’s idea of fun, but as we all know our troops in Afghanistan do it day in, day out with little time for relaxation. But added to that, when you are a keen snowboarder, it’s even less fun as snowboards don’t go very well on sand and rocks or for that matter, shrapnel! To help brighten up the days for the Army’s winter sports enthusiasts, SnOasis has taken up an opportunity to sponsor The 16th Signal Regiment Snowboarding Team. The team along with the rest of their regiment are currently operating from a base in Halmand province and are obviously counting the days until they can get to a cooler climate and some welcoming snow.

Soon after their deployment has been completed, followed by some well-deserved rest and relaxation, they will be heading off to take part in “Exercise SNOW JACK XII” in Kaprun, Austria. The aim of the exercise is to bring new talent to the snow sports scene and prepare soldiers for Division and Army level championships.

The exercise and championships are held over a two-week period that has been running annually since 1997. All personnel serving in the Royal Corps of Signals both full time and reserves are eligible to compete. Overall the event has introduced around 500 soldiers to the sport giving them an opportunity to develop key skills in adventurous training outside their normal working environment.

Before the main championship starts there is a week of intensive training co-ordinated by one of Europe’s top snowboarding schools. Races are held during the second week with teams and individuals competing in: Slalom, Dual Slalom, Slope Style and Snowboard Cross.

Due to the growing standard of competitors and media interest the sponsorship from SnOasis is needed to help cover the team’s equipment, clothing, travel and living expenses throughout the two-week competition in order to give them the best opportunity for success.


The 16th Signal Regiment Snowboarding Team, Royal Corps of Signals, on detachment in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

SnOasis in a nutshell:

Europe's largest indoor ski slope, 415m long, 70m wide, with a 100m vertical drop to international standard. Capacity for 2,400 skiers per hour

Nursery slope 100m long by 30m wide with 6-degree pitch

External ice rink 60m by 30m with 1,500 spectator seats

400m speed skating track

100m dry bobsleigh push start track

16m ice climbing wall

1.5km cross-country ski run

Multi purpose sports hall

Health and fitness centre

Triathlon course

Outdoor sports pitches

1.5km rollerblading track

Swimming pool

10-Pin Bowling (20 lanes)

Tennis

Rowing

Windsurfing

Sailing

Canoeing

Fishing

National Winter Sports Academy with 200-bed hostel

Medical room with first aid facilities

350 room four star hotel and conference centre, capacity for 1,000 delegates

350 self-catering holiday village style 4, 6, 8, bed ski lodges

100 one and two bedroomed apartments

Convenience store

Bank

Post Office

Nightclub

Fun ride based on a tobogganing/bobsleigh theme

17 bars and restaurants

“Try & Buy” sports retail

Saunas & Steam Rooms

Lifestyle retail

Exhibition facilities

Crèche

Skate Park

Entertainment Dome

Ice museum

Country club

[From www.eveningstar.co.uk]

Go ahead for UK’s longest indoor snow slope... nearly.

The SnOasis indoor snow centre planned for Great Blakenham in Suffolk has almost got the final go ahead after a long battle with local residents culminating with a lengthy public enquiry.

The government has given the go-ahead subject to certain environmental conditions. They have asked for more information on the centre’s carbon emissions. A final, final decision will be given by the Secretary of State for the environment by 17th September.

The SnOasis development will incorporate a 400m slope, about twice as long as the longest of the UK’s five existing, and two under construction indoor slopes. The slope will have a 100m vertical, making use of a disused quarry. Developers Onslow Suffolk say construction of the £350m ($700m US) project could now get underway this year, all being well, with completion possible by London Olympic Year, 2012.

The facility will also include an ice rink, hotels, as well as shops and apartments and create a main line railway station linking to London Liverpool Street and involve the construction of 120 affordable homes.

130,000 trees will be planted to enhance the environment in the area.

The development has been fiercely opposed by local residents close to the site and some environmental groups who say it will threaten bio-diversity in the area. Suffolk council have backed SnOasis saying it will boost the local and regional economy.

You can read the full decision.
More on the BBC News website.

www.snoasis.co.uk

A decision on whether to give the go ahead for the UK’s largest indoor slope, at Great Blakenham near Ipswich, has been put back by the UK government.

A public enquiry on SnOasis last Spring had been thought likely to deliver a verdict on the plans by the end of last year but now the UK government has asked for more information on the project’s environmental credentials from the developers.

Godfrey Spanner, managing director of the company behind the project, Onslow, told local media,

“I'm very upset, I just can't believe the position that we're in. After a full public inquiry, two public exhibitions, two years in the planning office and six months of public consultation, I find this decision quite remarkable and quite frankly absurd. The inspector went to great lengths and it was a very proper inquiry, we have done everything they've asked for.”

However protest group the SNoasis Community Alliance, which opposes SnOasis, have welcomed the delay as a good sign, they felt, that the government is looking at the proposal in what they consider is the proper detail.

We received this email from Richard Berry at winter-sports.co.uk and for those of you interested in directly supporting the SnOasis project, we thought you might be interested.

---

Most of those involved in the competitive skiing arena will have been watching the progress of the SnOasis project. The public inquiry having finished in mid June the project has to overcome its final hurdle.

Although we believe the inspector will recommend approval, the Secretary of State can decide otherwise. It is therefore vital we muster as much support for the project at this time. It has taken more than 12 years to reach this point and before that I have been searching for a suitable site since 1967 when I set up the first prototype in Tunbridge Wells.

When I first went to Sport England I was told that I did not have to justify the need for a Centre of Excellence for winter sports, this had been recognised for some time. So we would hope that the Minister will consult Sport England before making a decision, but we cannot leave this to chance. We need to convince the Minister that winter sports is just as important to our competitors as football is to the rest of the population.

If you want a serious snow training facility in UK now is the time to stand up and be counted. Our sport must demand to be heard if this project fails it is unlikely that any other project will emerge for a generation.

So please support the SnOasis campaign, register your support on the website, write to the Ministers shown on the web site, snail mail had more impact that e-mail. We need your support now before the Secretary of State has a chance to consider her decision. I implore anyone with contacts within the Gordon Brown government to give us the chance to put the case. Please fill in the form on the "Have Your Say" page and let us make SnOasis a reality!

Below please find suggested wording for a letter to the Ministers whose addresses can be found on the website, please expand on our suggestions and personalise your letter.

Regards, Richard

Dear Minister,

SnOasis The references for the 3 planning applications are:- APP/W3520/V/06/1199516: APP/W3520/V/06/1199545: APP/W3520/V/06/1199546

Despite the recommendation of the Inspector at the recent inquiry into the SnOasis project, the Mid Suffolk District Council approval of the planning application, we believe, reflects the majority of residents opinion that this project should be allowed to go ahead. The council has met all the concerns of objectors in the conditions attached to the planning approval. Indeed the independent report from the DTZ clearly demonstrates the viability of the project and the overwhelming effect and support that it will have on the business fraternity within Suffolk.

A project of this kind only comes once in a lifetime, it is not only advantageous to the economy of the region but of national importance to winter sports. Skiing has suffered from cuts in finance and government support over the period of this government and with the support shown for the summer London Olympics this a chance for the winter sports to be brought in from the cold. We urge you to look at the SnOasis website to see the overwhelming support that the SnOasis project has accumulated from the commercial sector as well as the sport.

We also implore you to take heed of the advice from Sport England and the BOA who acknowledge the need for a centre of excellence in winter sports and the lack of outdoor sporting facilities within south east England in general.

Yours etc.

SnOasis, the £350 million project to create the world’s first winter sports resort, in Suffolk, has reached an important stage in its journey to reality.

While the local authority has given full approval for the plans submitted by the developer, Onslow Suffolk, the application was ‘called in’ by the office of The Rt Hon Ruth Kelly MP - Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Minister for Women. As a result, a Public Inquiry has been held and this officially concludes on 18th June.

Due to the exceptional scale of the proposed development, there has been a small but vociferous opposition group who have attempted to undermine the plans. In order to help achieve a better understanding of the key issues, Onslow Suffolk recently printed a 4-page SnOasis NEWS publication for Suffolk residents. You can read the PDF version here (4mb).

The final answer from the Secretary of Sate’s office is not expected before October/November and I hope you, like the developers, are keen for a positive decision.

Opponents to SnOasis argue it will offer nothing new with increasing competition from The SnowDome Group. The enquiry is now in its seventh week. EADT reports:

THE SnOasis winter sports ski slope would offer nothing new and would have to survive in an increasingly competitive environment, a leading opponent of the development told a Government inspector today.

The inquiry resumed at Ipswich's Corn Exchange this morning into the £300 million complex which will include a giant ski slope, ice rink, casino, nightclub, hotel, restaurants, railway station, as well as hundreds of new homes at nearby Great Blakenham.

Despite gaining Mid Suffolk District Council's backing, the Government decided to call in the plans for an inquiry, now in its seventh week.

Dr Wendy Le-Las, one of the country's top environmental planning experts who represents the 13 communities opposed to the scheme, told inspector John Gray that SnOasis would be unlikely to attract visitors from abroad.


Planning inspector John Gray
She said: “SnOasis ski slope would offer nothing that is not available elsewhere, in urban areas with good communications.

“Competition is also growing. The SnowDome Group, which operates Tamworth, is opening Wycombe Snow Dome in 2008.

“The ski slope will be built on the side of Chilterns, thus minimising visual impact and the facility is within easy reach of the M40 and is 40 minutes by rail from London, as opposed to well over an hour to reach Great Blakenham station.

“The only real gain to UK plc would be if visitors went to SnOasis instead of abroad, or came in from abroad. Neither is likely.”

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.

A long awaited public inquiry into the £350m SnOasis winter sports centre proposed for Eastern England resort has begun. SnOasis is likely to be one of the world’s ten largest indoor snow centres if it opens as planned with a 475m slope and an unusually big 100m vertical drop.

Barristers acting for Onslow Suffolk, the company behind SnOasis, and also for Persimmon Homes Anglia, which wants to build a 421 homes next to it argue that the facility will create jobs, develop the local and regional economy and improve infrastructure with a new railway station planned.

The proposal is supported by the local council but opposed by a group of local residents and the government ordered that a public enquiry into the plan be staged before work commenced. Opponents, The SNoasis Community Alliance, say the plans would lead to huge transport, environmental and ecological problems.

The Enquiry is expected to last to the end of February. A report will themn be compiled and the final decision to grant or refuse the development will be made by the Secretary of State for communities and local governments.

The public inquiry into the proposed SnOasis indoor snow centre development in Suffolk started last week.

The Government ordered the public inquiry after Mid Suffolk District Council gave the leisure complex, the nearby housing development and the railway station the green light, despite numerous queries over the planning process from locals.

Landscape and design experts, giving evidence said that the £300 million development will create a new 21st century landmark acting as a beacon for regeneration.

If approved by the Government, once the inspector has given his verdict after the hearing, it will include a ski-slope, a four star 350-bed hotel, 350 chalets, 100 apartments and many new jobs at nearby Great Blakenham.

It is part of a wider development including 421 new homes, doubling the size of the village, and a new railway station.

Philip Russell-Vick, a witness appearing on behalf of SnOasis developers Onslow Suffolk told the inquiry that the ski-slope would be a “highly unusual, perhaps unique, structure”.

Drifting into the flowery language of architects he claimed that “its simple angled form is a clear expression of the building's function as an artificial skiing facility.”

It is right that the inquiry goes ahead following a series of failed businesses from the same developers. As reported in Private Eye, Onslow, the company applying to build the SnOasis centre, had a separate business park project shelved and creditors informed of their rights after their subsidiary company Onlsow Ditchling Ltd was declared insolvent.

Onslow Ditchling, where top SnOasis backer Godfrey Spanner is company secretary, director and shareholder, went into administration after a major dispute with one of the company’s main suppliers, Fitzpatrick Ltd.

Although there are no direct links between Onslow Ditchling and Onslow Suffolk, meaning the Suffolk company is not financially jeopardized, the Fitzpatrick family are 51% owners, something which Spanner said would not affect his plans for SnOasis as he ‘remained on good terms’ with them.

Onslow Ditchling is the third company in two years to have been wound up under Spanner’s watch. Southern Restoration Group PLC, of which Spanner was a shareholding director and director, went into administration in February of 2004. Newhaven Property Development Company Limited was liquidated in October of that year – Spanner was company secretary and Director.

[Used with permission from Natives]