Flood experts raise concerns over proposed Derbyshire water park resort

Planning authority Bolsover District Council is gathering views from consultees before making any decisions including the county council’s Flood Risk Management Team and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust as it considers 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.

A county council spokesperson stated: “We are recommending an objection on the proposed development as it is not possible to provide an informed comment until such a time that the applicant has submitted further information to show that the proposed outfall ditch is connected to a wider network of watercourses.”

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.

Derbyshire County Council’s flood team has raised concerns in a submission dated July 16 after learning from the developer that the Clowne Garden Village housing scheme for 1,800 homes, when it is built, will be be discharging to this 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 both before and after the development.

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.

An NWT spokesperson stated: “We are concerned about potential additional water discharge from the proposed leisure resort into the catchment downstream and into Bondhay dyke that could exacerbate flow rates during high rainfall and flood events.”

NWT added that the current underground pipe being considered for the discharging of water which feeds into the top of Bondhay dyke has limited capacity and will not cope with any additional discharge rates above normal greenfield discharge.

It also raised concerns about an apparent absence of monitoring water levels or river flows and subsequent flood risk impacts as part of the planning process and it is concerned water discharge during construction will be discharged into the river.

An NWT spokesperson added: “Following construction, we are concerned that the proposed SuDS (Sustainable Drainage) scheme will overspill into the catchment feeding Bondhay dyke and this could lead to significant additional water volumes entering Bondhay dyke and the Ryton catchment, exacerbating flood risk downstream in and around Worksop.”

It fears the scheme could pose significant additional surface water discharge entering Bondhay dyke which could significantly increase flood risk immediately downstream of the leisure resort and also exacerbate flood risk in Shireoaks and Worksop where over 300 homes and businesses have been affected by flooding in recent years.

NWT and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust are already working with landowners along Bondhay dyke to install Natural Flood Management to increase the natural resilience of the catchment to adsorb and slow the flow of high rainfall during flood events and it is feared that the scheme could put this work at risk if there is any significant additional discharge into the Bondhay Dyke.

The Say No to the Wolf campaign group – which is opposed to the scheme – has also raised fears 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 the American Lodge aesthetic of the resort’s design will alter the identity of the area.

Clowne Garden Village Action Group campaigners, opposed to the separate Waystone Ltd housing scheme for 1,800 homes between Clowne and Barlborough, which has outline approval, also agree with the Say No to the Wolf group that any additional developments such as the water park scheme could have a combined detrimental effect on highways and the environment.

Dominic Webb, of the 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.

Say No to the Wolf campaigners claim the water park’s progress could rely heavily on the housing scheme which has previously been disputed by Bolsover District Council and Great Wolf who have argued the two plans are separate and being addressed independently.

But campaigners claim the water park scheme will pose increased traffic problems and environmental harm to the region alongside the Clowne Garden Village scheme.

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 and flood risks as well as its impact on the environment.

Whitwell Parish Council has also objected to the scheme ‘in the strongest terms’ on the grounds of its scale and because it feels the applicant has not researched the area and that the proposal is fundamentally inappropriate for the location and conflicts with both the National Planning Policy Framework and the adopted Bolsover Local Plan.

But Great Wolf Resorts hopes its scheme may create about 600 jobs and attract visitors with possible ‘day passes’ previously proposed for residents to access facilities without having to book accommodation.

Planning documents 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 said the scheme could 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.

It 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.

A Great Wolf spokesperson argued traffic studies and reports indicate that even during peak arrival time there would only be an additional two cars per minute with a negligible impact on the environment.

However, Derbyshire County Council’s highways authority has requested more information particularly in relation to the potential impact of the proposed scheme on the A616/A619 Treble Bob roundabout.

Great Wolf also says it aims to operate a minibus service from stations to the resort and proposals also include active travel with footway improvements for pedestrians, cyclists and other forms of non-automated travel.

It also explained that it aims to re-wild 5.7 hectares to the west of the site and there are plans to plant thousands of trees on the site with improvements to hedgerows around the periphery promoting a better environment with a significant biodiversity net gain.

Say No to the Wolf fears any construction employment for the scheme will only provide a negligible local benefit, and that any new staff positions at the resort will be mainly for lower skilled and lower paid employees, and that most visitor spending will only take place at the resort.

However, Bolsover District Council’s Economic Development Team has stated that newly submitted documents from the applicants provide a a significantly stronger framework for securing local employment, apprenticeships, skills development, inclusive growth, local procurement, tourism growth and visitor economy benefits.

The district council team also acknowledged a clear commitment from the applicants to delivering measurable socio-economic outcomes for Bolsover residents and businesses and it continues to support the application in principle which it considers capable of making a significant positive contribution towards the council’s district-wide Local Plan objectives.