‘DON’T block the future investment in a holiday resort’ – were the parting words of Basingstoke’s former council leader after he was ousted from the top spot.

Cllr Simon Minas-Bound was removed as leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council after a motion was passed which saw Cllr Paul Harvey, who is the leader of the Independent Forum, voted in as the new leader.

READ MORE: Councillors vote on motion to oust council leader

In a parting message to Cllr Harvey, Cllr Minas-Bound urged him not to “block future investment”.

In the handwritten note, which he posted on Twitter, Cllr Minas-Bound said: “The council has been well run and has strong finances for the benefit of residents. Please don’t fritter them away on ‘pet projects’.”

He called on the new leader to protect weekly bin collections, support the ‘green team’, protect landscapes and rivers, and not to block future investment for a new hospital, university campus, and holiday resort.

 

 

But what did he mean by a holiday resort?

It is thought that he was referring to plans by major US-based leisure operator Great Wolf Resorts, which is in talks with the council to bring an indoor water park resort to Basingstoke, as one of the first in the UK.

The borough council has agreed to progress formal negotiations with Great Wolf Resorts to sell Basingstoke Golf Centre as a location for the development, after it expressed an interest in the 27-acre council-owned site.

SEE ALSO: Great Wolf Resorts could bring indoor water park resort to Basingstoke 

The proposed resort could feature a 500-bedroom hotel, an indoor water park, conference facilities, and leisure offerings including mini-golf, mini-bowling, a ropes course, games arcade and selection of restaurants, cafés and bars.

Great Wolf Resorts operates 19 Great Wolf Lodge branded resorts in the US and Canada, designed around family holidays. It recently received planning permission to build its first UK resort near Bicester in Oxfordshire.

If the plans for Basingstoke come to fruition, the resort would offer day passes to its indoor water park facilities to Basingstoke residents. Local families would also be able to enjoy a host of attractions and eateries outside of the indoor water park, without being an overnight guest.

The resort would be expected to attract up to 600,000 extra visitors a year to the borough, provide more than 600 jobs and bring substantial economic benefits to the town and wider borough.

The idea is still in the very early stages after the council’s cabinet members made an ‘in principle’ decision to sell the land on a long lease, to allow more detailed work to start to develop proposals. This includes the consideration of the need to provide the golf course with facilities elsewhere.

The sale would be subject to Great Wolf Resorts obtaining planning permission for the site.

Even if the development was given the go-ahead and gain planning permission, the site is likely to continue to run as a golf centre under the current contract until the end of December 2025.