A leisure and hotel complex, which includes its own indoor ski slope complete with real snow, has cleared its first planning hurdle following approval from Wicklow Co Council. Two objections have been lodged against the development with An Bord Pleanala.
The remarkable project is the first of its kind here, one of a new generation of integrated leisure and entertainment centres geared for the tourist market. It will have the largest indoor ski slope anywhere in Europe according to its developers.
The project is being promoted by Norpark Investments Ltd of Rathmines Park, Rathmines, Dublin 6, and if cleared will be built on a 75-acre site at Model World, Ballinahinch Lower, Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow, just outside and south-west of the village.
The approval was granted last month and is now the subject of "two minor objections" according to architect for the project, Tim Rowe of Rowe and Associates. "We don't think they can be sustained," he said. The developers are confident that the project will go ahead as planned, after taking on board modifications required by the planning approval. Engineers for the project are Fahy Fitzpatrick Consulting Engineers.
Norpark Investments is a consortium that includes Irish and international investors. The Irish investors will emerge in time, he said, but the company which will build the snow producing system, Acer-Snowmec of Birmingham, is involved as is the marketing and asset management company, D T Z Pieda, one of Britain's leading asset managers.
It took just over a year for the application to achieve council approval. It is described as an "integrated indoor tourist, leisure and recreational complex" but this simple phrase doesn't even begin to indicate what is proposed for the Newtownmountkennedy site.
The leisure complex will cater for several thousand customers at any given time, Mr Rowe said and, overall, will provide between 800 and 900 full-time jobs. "It puts the Irish tourist and leisure market on a new level." It incorporates a 281-bedroom hotel, function room and associated facilities, health and fitness centre and family entertainment centre, which will fit underneath the 250 metre long slope. The slope and its associated ski village, which nestles at the bottom of the slope, will be fully enclosed under an opaque dome which will allow sunlight to be excluded. "The whole thing is a refrigerated box, effectively," Mr Rowe said.
Fresh snow will be produced each day and will be blown on to the slope and the village. Those enjoying apres ski in the village will be able to watch it fall as they sip warm drinks, and there will also be a village ice skating rink and extensive landscaping.
As if this side of the development wasn't remarkable enough, the developers plan an indoor tropical oasis as a counterbalance, including a swimming area suitable for snorkelling, and a meandering heated "river" where swimmers can drift along at their leisure.
The glass-sided pool will give views into tanks where tropical fish and plant species can be seen. The pool area will have its own "beach" made of crushed marble and visitors will be able to enjoy tropical drinks.
There is a purpose behind the pairing of hot and cold, Mr Rowe said. "The heat that we take out to make the snow, we use to heat the water for nothing. The whole thing is environmentally very friendly."
The building must be in full control of its environment and so sunlight must be blocked, but the developers plan to offer both day and night-time skiing using computer controlled liquid crystal projection. It will allow beachside meals under a full moon or starlight skiing.
For those who prefer their outdoors to be outdoors, there will also be an executive 18 hole golf course, a shorter than usual course that allows a quicker round, Mr Rowe said. It is being designed by Mr Pat Ruddy, who also designed the popular Druid's Glen course in Wicklow.
The plan also includes provision for a two-storey building next to the ski slope. This structure, which would include a central themed atrium, would hold a five screen cinema, multi-purpose venue space, leisure retail unit, licensed theme lounge bars and night club, a model centre depicting Ireland through the ages and a "scientazia", an interactive science display centre.
The atrium would incorporate a food court, restaurants, performance space and themed entrance malls with retail and leisure facilities, according to the planning application.
The plan also makes provision for 198 shared ownership apartments and "aparthotel" units. These would be built above the two-storey building, clustered around a south facing formal garden. The plan delivers on recommendations for an integrated, weather-independent leisure project as indicated in the operational policy for tourism, Mr Rowe said. It would also serve Co Wicklow's tourism efforts.
"Wicklow county has been a tourist centre for years," he said. "The problem is, there are very few hotels." Co Kerry built more new hotel rooms in 1999 than currently exist in all of Co Wicklow, he said. The apartments and hotel accommodation would help to boost availability in the county and give people a reason to overnight rather than day trip from Dublin city. It has yet to be decided how the development will be handled after construction.
Some elements may be leased while others are sold on, Mr Rowe said. However, considerable interest in the project has been expressed by a number of hotel companies, he added.
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