Snoasis Concern - SnOasis Myths exploded

Boiling the frog. Put a frog into boiling water and its instinct will be to jump straight out. But put it cool water and slowly heat it, it will just sit there and be cooked. The marketing of SnOasis a good example of boiling the frog - originally we were told that the development would make use of an ugly industrial scar; the buildings would not be visible above the skyline, that a special access road would be built from the A14 and that local people would be able to use the facilities.

Slowly the water was heated up until we are facing a nightmare on the roads; the building sticks up 242 feet in the air; site is turns out to be a well restored area and the complex will be for residents only.
We've been boiled! - so here are some SnOasis myths and the reality behind them

Myth – The ski complex will be hidden in the quarry Reality – It will be a gigantic and ugly monster on the skyline. One of the most enduring myths in our discussions with local people was the misconception that the SnOasis buildings would be hidden in the quarry. Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that that is what the developers originally told local people. In reality, the development proposals 'just grew and grew'. The main ski dome will stand 242 feet above surrounding land - that's higher than 14 London buses stacked on top of each other - and be a giant slab of a building some 200 feet wide. The developers tell us that it wasn't their idea - Mid Suffolk District Council wanted a "landmark" building, So not content with Landmark House, the prominent and empty ex Agilent building on the A14, it seems as though we all deserve one 5 times as high as in the shape of a slug ! Click here to see more information and pictures.
Myth – SnOasis will have its own access road from the A14 Reality – Sadly not. Despite this myth being perpetuated regularly in the local press, there are NO proposals for a new access road. All traffic for SnOasis, the housing and the railway station will be squeezed onto the already hopelessly inadequate B1113 or forced to go over the level crossing at Gt. Blakenham which will be closed for even longer than today.
Myth – Most visitors will come by train Reality – Our roads may be gridlocked by thousands of additional cars. The developer's own estimates are that less than 10% of visitors will use the train. The rest will come by car and use roads that everyone in Suffolk knows are already close to saturation point. How many times has the A14 been blocked in the past couple of years by accidents or breakdowns ? Sproughton is already gridlocked. The Copdock Mill and Claydon interchanges are dreadfully overloaded. So what will at least a minimum of a thousand cars a day do to this on top of the already planned Felixstowe and Harwich dock expansions and the proposed development of the old sugar beet factory at Sproughton or the old Fisons site in Bramford ?
Myth – The SnOasis site is a derelict eyesore Reality – Its simply not true. 2/3rd of the site is either virgin farmland or beautifully restored grassland and lakes. It is surrounded by a Special Landscape Area. The fact that the land is private and the entrance is via a small road at the Viridor site in Gt. Blakenham means that most people have never seen the site or been able to visit it. It's a unique site that charms everyone that sees it. Click here to see pictures and get more information.
Myth – Lighting will be subtle Reality – We may be bathed in perpetual daylight. The police have asked that lighting on the site be of an intensity to allow for security plus the proximity to Wattisham airfield means that there must be high intensity navigation lighting (like the Mendlesham mast) on the buildings. This latter fact was denied at the planning hearing but is in fact required because of the airfield proximity. Perhaps they didn't know it was there!
Myth – Lots of great jobs will be created Reality – The majority may be minimum wage, junior jobs. According to Mid Suffolk's own consultant's report 83% of the jobs created at SnOasis are likely to be junior or seasonal low skill, low pay jobs. Nothing wrong with that but with only about 1% unemployment in the region, so it is likely to mean that the majority of jobs go to outside guest workers - nothing wrong with that either but the regional plan calls for high value, high wage high tech jobs. Surely that's what our children need?

Myth – Planning permission has been granted Reality – Permission has NOT yet been granted and cannot be until the Government appointed Inspector examines all of the issues at the Public Inquiry. This is because the plans fall outside the Mid Suffolk's district Council's own local plan. Mid Suffolk are only 'minded to approve' the plans.The Public Inquiry ius underway but a decison from the Secretary of State may not be available until at least summer 2007.
Myth – SnOasis will never happen. Reality – It will, unless you act now ! One of the most enduring myths is that SnOasis will somehow never materialise, so there is no need to worry. Being laid back is part of our Suffolk charm but how the developers must love that character trait ! This development and the developers are deadly serious - there are many millions of pounds at stake. You must act NOW if you want to change the proposals into something we can all live with by donating money to help us appoint a first class team to fight the proposals at the Public Inquiry.
Myth – SnOasis will bring the region prosperity Reality – It will certainly bring the developers prosperity. Described by the developer as 'the greatest coup of his career' after the planning hearing, SnOasis prosperity may not be as widespread as people think. After all, it is a Center Parcs type of operation where visitors stay on site. With restaurants, a casino, multiplex cinemas, nightclub, bowling alley shops and winter sports on offer, how many of those visitors will be using local hotels, pubs and shops? Money spent onsite will go into the site operator's hands, almost certainly supplied by national suppliers.
Myth - The wildlife on the site will be protected Reality – A unique habitat will be destroyed along with most of the wildlife. The proposals for moving the wildlife from a peaceful 350 acre site of natural chalk grassland and ponds to a 30 acre strip of nitrate rich farmland are farcical. It will take years to neutralise the farmland to be suitable for delicate protected species like the crested newts but even if it could be done, being next to over a million people a year with their noise and light will either disperse the wildlife or kill it off. Perhaps that's the plan?
Myth – SnOasis will be great for our kids Reality – It's not being built for local people. How local people will get acess to SnOasis is still unclear and subject to discussions. Local people can always book a chalet like anyone else but the ability for locals to use the facilities is likely to be subject to both entrance fees to the site and session charges at the ski-centre. These have not been defined yet but are expected to be set at a level that will not impact the facilities in local town centres. And anyway, Ipswich already has a ski slope which has trained thousands of local kids to enjoy ski-ing.
Myth – SnOasis is a sustainable business Reality – We could have a rusting hulk like the people of Tokyo. Leisure fashions and the times change. Since SnOasis was first mooted, energy costs have doubled while the cost of flights to the ski slopes of the Alps have halved. In any case, the business case presented with the application is marginal at best. Times changed for a similar development in Tokyo with a population of 13 million and it became an abandoned rusting hulk for years. Eventually, after £30m to demolish it, it is now a housing estate.