Basingstoke council backs sale of golf centre for indoor waterpark

Great Wolf Resorts' proposal includes a raft ride

A council has backed the proposed sale of a golf centre to a leisure operator that wants to build an indoor water park and 500-room hotel.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council said it supported in principle Great Wolf Resorts' (GWR) plans.

It said the development would be a "regional draw, supporting growth, attracting visitors and bringing economic benefits" to the area.

GWR currently operates 19 branded resorts in the US and Canada.

The company said it had recently been granted planning permission to build its first UK resort near Bicester in Oxfordshire.

It said both resorts, "if realised", would make day passes to its indoor water park facilities available to local residents.

The resort's developers say day passes would be made available to local people

According to the council, the Hampshire resort would be expected to attract up to 600,000 extra visitors a year to the borough "as a major new UK leisure venue, providing over 600 good quality jobs and bringing substantial economic benefits to the town and wider borough".

Following the council's decision on Tuesday, it said it would now progress formal negotiations with GWR to sell Basingstoke Golf Centre, off Worthing Road, as a location for the development.

The golf centre is owned by the council, operated by the Basingstoke Leisure Trust and managed by Serco, alongside the Aquadrome and Tadley leisure centre.

The council's finance and property lead, John Izett, said previously the resort in Basingstoke would bring "£275m of investment, many new visitors to our borough, many good job opportunities".