Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Jon Cooper
More than 500 public comments have so far been received by a Derbyshire council during its ongoing and extended consultation into a controversial proposed water park resort near several villages.
Bolsover District Council has been gathering views from the consultation – which has been extended with an August 28 deadline – ahead of making a decision to approve or refuse Great Lakes UK Ltd and Waystone Ltd’s planning application for a Great Wolf Resorts’ indoor water park and resort on land near Worksop Road, at Whitwell Common.
Say No to the Wolf campaigners have raised concerns the scheme will pose increased traffic and environmental harm combined with the separate, massive Clowne Garden Village housing development for 1,800 homes.
A Say No to the Wolf campaign spokesperson said: “The [consultation] extension is no surprise given that the consultee and public comments have clearly raised important issues for which there are no answers on the [council] planning file or portal.”
The spokesperson added: “Regarding the large amount of objections – whilst numbers in themselves are not a planning consideration – they do, however, show the strength of feeling the public have and how once again Bolsover District Council and the developer have failed to recognise the will of the public and continue to force unsustainable development on the people of Clowne and Whitwell Common.”
But the Friends of Great Wolf Lodge Derbyshire’s Facebook group page has argued the water park scheme will be a ‘fantastic investment’ creating jobs and providing what they believe will be a much-needed leisure venue.
Concerning the consultation, a FoGWL spokesperson stated: “This is a very positive for the planning application. It simply means that the council are collecting all of the information required to progress this application.
“Remember, this is a ‘legal process’, not an emotive one. Yes, the council will take the comments of the public on board but these will not carry any weight unless supported by a ‘legal challenge’.”
The proposed site for the Great Wolf Lodge water park resort is on 19.3 hectares of agricultural land between Barlborough, Clowne and Whitwell and could feature a seven-storey, 512-room hotel, a water park, an adventure park, conference facilities, restaurants and staff accommodation with associated access, parking and landscaping.
Say No to the Wolf campaigners fear the development will have a huge impact on the environment, highways and wildlife, and that the resort will also cause light pollution and that the American Lodge aesthetic of the resort’s design will change the area’s identity.
Clowne Garden Village Action Group campaigners, opposed to the separate Waystone Ltd housing scheme between Clowne and Barlborough, which has outline approval, agree with the Say No to the Wolf group that any additional developments such as the water park could have a combined detrimental effect on highways and the environment.
Dominic Webb, of Clowne Garden Village Action Group, has also raised potential concerns that the Great Wolf scheme could pose noise, drainage and flood risks with an impact on the area’s ecology, biodiversity and air quality.
Alongside the 500-plus public comments, some of which include numerous comments from the same people, the district council is also gathering views from statutory consultees as well as other councils, experts, and community groups for consideration.
Derbyshire County Council’s flood team has so far raised concerns after learning that the Clowne Garden Village housing scheme will be be discharging into the same watercourse.
Subsequently, the county council has insisted that a full hydraulic analysis is needed for all the watercourses within the development site boundary with an assessment of the risk of flooding to existing and proposed properties.
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has also submitted an objection with concerns about the hydrological implications from the proposed scheme on the downstream Bondhay dyke tributary which forms part of the Ryton catchment that currently causes significant flooding issues to properties and businesses in and around Worksop.
Clowne Parish Council has objected to the scheme based on its scale, feared noise, disturbance, over-development, highways safety and increased traffic with a suspected lack of local economic benefit alongside concerns for drainage, flood risks and the environment.
And Whitwell Parish Council has also objected to the scheme on the grounds of its scale and because it feels the applicant has not researched the area and that the proposal is inappropriate for the location and conflicts with the National Planning Policy Framework and the adopted Bolsover Local Plan.
But Great Wolf Resorts hopes its scheme may create about 600 jobs and deliver significant economic, social and environmental benefits and it estimates that the increased number of visitors if the proposed development gets the go-ahead would lead to £1m of additional spend per year to the area.
Planning documents also state the scheme has the potential to result in significant direct investment in the area and to serve as a positive catalyst for future development.
Great Wolf Resorts has also stated that guests tend to arrive gradually at different times at its water parks rather than all together despite concerns that such developments may create traffic problems.
However, Derbyshire County Council’s highways authority has requested more information in relation to the potential impact of the proposed scheme on the A616/A619 Treble Bob roundabout.
American-based company Great Wolf also says it aims to operate a minibus service from stations and proposals include active travel with footway improvements for pedestrians and cyclists.
It also aims to re-wild 5.7 hectares to the west of the site and there are plans to plant thousands of trees with improvements to hedgerows.
But Say No to the Wolf fears any construction employment for the scheme will only provide a negligible local benefit, and new staff positions at the resort will be mainly for lower skilled and lower paid employees, and that most visitor spending will take place at the resort.
However, Bolsover District Council’s Economic Development Team stated newly submitted documents from the applicants provide a significantly stronger framework for securing local employment, apprenticeships, skills development, inclusive growth, local procurement, tourism growth and visitor economy benefits.
A FoGWL spokesperson stated it welcomes the prospect of having an ‘international facility of this quality on our doorstep’ because the group’s parents and grandparents currently have to travel to other entertainment venues.
A Say No to the Wolf spokesperson added: “We strongly encourage people to still submit objections, as this is our only way to stop the proposed development in this highly inappropriate setting.”
The district council confirmed a consultation began on June 16 and was initially extended until July 29 because of technical issues sending out letters, and a further consultation with consultees has extended the overall consultation until August 28.
District council planning officers will indicate a recommendation to either grant or refuse the planning application after considering all the information and the council’s planning committee will then consider all matters before meeting to make a final decision.
A district council spokesperson said: “As the application will require planning committee consideration, interested parties will be notified of a future planning committee date and will have the opportunity to participate up to this date and at the meeting.”
