Indoor SnOasis Gets Approval

Plans to build one of the largest winter sports centres in Europe have been approved subject to certain terms and conditions.Developer Onslow Suffolk wants to build the £350m complex at a former quarry in Great Blakenham near Ipswich, Suffolk

The SnOasis project will create an indoor ski slope, ice rink, hotels, as well as shops and apartments. Other aspects of the development will see the planting 130,000 trees, improvements to the Copdock intersection of the A12 and A14, skills and training initiatives, and a main line railway station linking to London Liverpool Street.

Godfrey Spanner, managing director of Onslow Suffolk, said: "We have been working on this project for six years, with costs running into many millions.At last, SnOasis will become a reality to the benefit of Ipswich, Suffolk, East Anglia, the country, and of course, all of our hopes for greater success at major winter sports competitions."

Tim Passmore, leader of Mid-Suffolk District Council, said: "This will give Suffolk the tourism boost that it truly deserves and our other local attractions should be able to capitalise on the interest that it will generate.With around 120 new affordable homes being built as part of the development, local people and small businesses look set to benefit too."