Council approves £350m snow dome

More than 1,500 jobs would be created at the centre

Plans to build one of the largest winter sports centres in Europe have been backed by councillors.

Developer Onslow Suffolk plans to build the £350m complex at a former quarry in Great Blakenham near Ipswich.

The scheme, first proposed in 2004, was given the go-ahead by Mid Suffolk District councillors, nine votes to six, at a special meeting on Friday.

The plans will now go to the government which could either support the decision or order a public inquiry into it.

Onslow Suffolk wants to create an indoor ski slope, ice rink, hotels, a golf course as well as shops and apartments.

The committee meeting unanimously backed plans for 421 new homes near the site, and a new railway station at Great Blakenham, Suffolk, to help support the development.

Call for public inquiry

Following the meeting, John Williams, chairman of the Snoasis Parish Group, which represents 15 town and parishes opposed to the plans, said the fight would continue and the government must order a public inquiry.

"This is an enormous development and anything of such national proportions must go before a full detailed inquiry in front of an inspector," he said.

Godfrey Spanner, of Onslow Suffolk, said: "We knew because of the extraordinary nature of the proposition, this would present the authorities with an unprecedented challenge, but I am delighted that after careful consideration, the council has approved our exciting proposals.

"I hope now that GO East (the Government Office for the East of England) and the deputy prime minister will also support our plans and not call it in.

"The delay caused by a call in would be disastrous for us, delaying the project a further two years, costing millions more and missing the opportunity of the 2012 Olympics."

Richard Ward, Suffolk Preservation Society director, said: "The society was not surprised by the decision, but we are concerned and disappointed that the views [of so many local people] have been set aside."