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Huge Winter Sports Resort To Be Built In Suffolk; 'Biggest Refrigerator?'

24 Nov 2008 Alicia Gough, Regional Editor     Comments (4)

SnOasis in Suffolk SnOasis in Suffolk

What's billed as "the world's first winter sports resort" is to be built on a quarry in Suffolk. Following a four-year battle by developers, the £350 million SnOasis complex will cover 350 acres and take three years to construct.

The project finally received approval from the Department of Communities and Local Government in November 2008 after significant opposition from local residents and Natural England.

The opposition group, SnOasis Community Alliance, told the BBC it was very disappointed with the decision to go-ahead with the project they call "The biggest refrigerator in Europe." John Williams, the opposition group's chairman, said SnoOasis would lead to congestion on the roads and be damaging to the environment.

Developer Onslow Suffolk said they wanted to transform the quarry at Great Blakenham into a holiday destination that will bring "enormous economic benefits" into the community.

SnOasis will be the world's first winter sports resort. Godfrey Spanner, managing director of Onslow Suffolk, told the BBC, "At last we have final approval and can move forward and give our country something unique to be proud of."

At the heart of the complex will be Europe's largest indoor ski slope, measuring 415 metres in long by 70 metres wide, with a 100-metre vertical drop. All together, 14 different winter sports are available, including ice skating, ice climbing, and bobsleighing.

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Recent Comments

  • by Turnipman 29 Dec 2008
    Just interested to know what ski-fans have to say about Snoasis. I'm not anti-skiing myself and it's been a while since I last skied, however, being a local as is Robbo27 it seems, I looked into this developement a lot more closely than I would have otherwise. When it was first announced it sounded brilliant but as you have no doubt learnt from articles by the 'sNOasis brigade' , there are some serious concerns also. A couple of things that may not appear in the glossy brochures or local press but that you may interest you are as follows... The developement is sited adjacent to an often smelly Landfill site and an underground fuel depot for neighbouring RAF bases (remember Buncefield). There have been 2 fires at the landfill site in the last 2 years that I know of. There are also advanced plans to build an incinerator within 100 metres of the site. All in all it doesn't sound like much of a holiday destination to me. Natural England's objection (NE are a Government dept) was pretty much ignored by the Secretary of State and they are still objecting. Persimmon Homes have pulled out of the housing complex associated with the developement due to the economic downturn and I imagine the new railway station may be axed next thus removing a big chunk of the local benefits which were to come out of Snoasis. The local press and the developers have deliberately misled the public over this resort and it is a credit to the 'sNOasis brigade' that they managed to drag out the David and Goliath battle for so long. If nothing else remember 1 thing. Mr. Spanner is a developer and his goal is to make money and not to run a ski-resort. He actually admitted this at the first public enquiry.
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  • by Robbo27 26 Nov 2008
    I'll be able to see this place from my front window. Good to see that the sNOasis brigade failed in their attempts to get this stopped.
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  • by Nandemosan 25 Nov 2008
    Thank god the economy's in the tank. Projects like this are ridiculous given the amount of power they consume. While not as stupid as skiing in Dubai, indoor skiing anywhere is a joke.
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