Valley Ridge snowdome plans at Great Blakenham were laughable - MP

Valley Ridge was planned to be built adjacent to the landfill site in Great Blakenham, near Ipswich

Plans to build a snowdome at a former quarry in Suffolk were laughable, an MP has said.

The developer wanted to build the Valley Ridge holiday resort with an indoor ski centre in Great Blakenham.

However, Mid Suffolk District Council confirmed planning permission for the scheme, that was granted in 2020, expired last year.

Local Conservative MP Dan Poulter said the scheme was "never likely to come to fruition".

The site has been put up for sale, as first reported by the East Anglian Daily Times.

"Anyone with any business acumen would have looked at the plan of putting a snowdome in rural Suffolk and probably laughed," said Mr Poulter.

"I'm glad we're in a position where something completely inappropriate for the Suffolk countryside, a huge snowdome, is now put to one side and we can look at viable and sensible business uses for the area, which will undoubtedly be a much better opportunity for people to move into jobs."

Valley Ridge would have been built on the site of a former quarry at Great Blakenham, just off the A14 to the west of Ipswich

A leisure scheme featuring an indoor ski slope with artificial snow was first mooted in 2001, when it was called SnOasis, and permission was granted by the government in 2010 following a public inquiry, but the permissions expired.

SnOasis was again granted planning permission by the council in 2020, and a rejigged scheme called Valley Ridge was outlined in 2021.

However, in 2022, Suffolk County Council gave permission for a landfill next to Valley Ridge to continue operating until 2030.

The council said this became a "sticking point" for the holiday resort developer.

Dan Poulter said the project was not suitable for the area

"After 20 years, it's good it's being shelved and we need to find more sensible uses for that land," added Mr Poulter.

He suggested the site could be redeveloped for industrial purposes, logistics or scrap metal, bringing more jobs to the area.

The company Valley Ridge was contacted for comment.