Cllr Simon Minas-Bound, leader of the Conservative Group on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, was the and council leader when the proposal for Great Wolf to build a 500-bedroom hotel and water park resort was first agreed.
He is calling on the current administration to “urgently” rethink its approach to the re-provision of the pitch and putt at the Leisure Park.
Speaking after attending the Great Wolf Lodge consultation event at the Aquadrome, on Wednesday, October 22, Cllr Minas-Bound explained that he doesn’t want anything to jeopardise the deal. He said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Basingstoke.
Cllr Simon Minas-Bound at the Great Wolf public consultation (Image: Cllr Simon Minas-Bound)
“The proposed Great Wolf Lodge would bring huge investment, hundreds of jobs and millions of pounds of visitor spending into our local economy.
“In other areas where Great Wolf has opened, local businesses have seen up to a 30 per cent uplift in takings — a direct boost to the town centre, hospitality, retail and leisure.
“There isn’t much in today’s economy that could bring this scale of benefit to our borough. Yet the Council administration risks throwing it all away by mishandling the reprovision of the Pitch and Putt so badly.”
The former council leader said that the controversy surrounding the administration’s preferred site at Down Grange was “entirely self-inflicted”.
He added: “They have caused completely unnecessary division and anger by putting forward the wrong site and then treating residents appallingly when they voiced legitimate concerns.
“The proposal to push facilities onto cherished green space at Down Grange is unacceptable and entirely avoidable.”
Cllr Minas Bound called on the Council to find a new, “more appropriate” site for the pitch and putt — ideally within the Leisure Park itself, alongside other leisure facilities.
He added: “Common sense can still prevail. Down Grange can be protected, the pitch and putt can be re-provided in the right place, and Basingstoke can move forward with a transformative leisure investment that benefits the whole borough.
“We should be doing everything possible to welcome investment that strengthens our local economy, supports jobs and attracts visitors — not driving it away through poor decisions and political stubbornness.
“I’m urging the administration to change course immediately before we lose a development that could put Basingstoke firmly on the map as a leading family destination.”