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Great Wolf Resorts has submitted plans to transform Basingstoke golf centre into an indoor water park and 512-room hotel.
According to reports first published by BBC, the requests outline the firm’s plans for the hotel and water park, as well as restaurants and a retail area on the grounds of the golf centre on Worting Road.
The company said that if given the go-ahead, the water park would offer the area “significant economic, social and environmental benefits including substantial and far-reaching investment”.
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council had earlier supported the proposals in principle and will now review the application submitted by the US-based leisure operator.
Until construction commences, subject to the reception of planning permission, the land will continue to operate as a golf centre.
Great Wolf Resorts runs 23 indoor water park resorts under its Great Wolf Lodge chain across the United States and Canada, and has its sights set on three UK expansions in Oxfordshire, Derbyshire and Hampshire.
Great Wolf Resorts’ latest statement on the project said: “We’ve been exploring opportunities to expand our signature Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park resort experience beyond North America and we see exciting growth potential for Great Wolf Lodge in the UK.
“We recently submitted our application for planning approval, which is an important step as we continue to explore the possibility of bringing a Great Wolf Lodge to Basingstoke.”
It added: “We believe our resort would serve as a catalyst for growth in the area, creating over 600 high-quality jobs and attracting more than half-a-million visitors to the borough each year, providing a significant economic boost and increasing the appeal for other leisure operators to invest in the area.”
