Fury in tiny UK village at plans for new mega theme park and 500-room hotel

A trio of councils have raised concerns over ambitious new plans to build a giant US water park and 512-room hotel .... in the leafy English countryside. Great Wolf Resorts aims to build a huge hotel, theme park, a family entertainment centre, conference centre and more than 900 car parking spaces near Whitwell in Derbyshire.

Last month the Daily Express revealed residents had formed an action group to voice their fears over the plans. Now three parish councils have also raised their concerns. Clowne Parish Council and Whitwell Parish Council have submitted objections - while Barlborough Parish Council has raised "significant concerns" about the application to create the new attraction on land by Worksop Road.

Objections submitted from Clowne and Whitwell parish councils state the proposals would be "incompatible", and "inappropriate" for the area.

But Great Wolf Resorts stresses the design has been adapted to be more "cottage-like and the landscaping expanded to better blend with the surroundings".

According to planning documents, the proposed development would be built on a 19.3-hectare (47.7-acre) site, which is currently agricultural land.

The proposed water park would consist of a range of attractions including slides, rides, lazy rivers, toddler pools and a wave machine.

The company - described in planning documents as the largest operator of water park resorts in North America - said the proposed development would deliver "significant economic, social and environmental benefits" in the area and could create about 600 jobs.

It also estimated the increased number of visitors, if the proposed development gets the go-ahead, would lead to £1m of additional spend per year in the area.

However, Clowne Parish Council said the resort would be a "one-stop experience" for visitors and the economic impact on the local area would not be significant enough.

Local resident Sharon O'Connell said the whole business model of the proposed park would aim to keep people on-site rather than encouraging them to spend money in the community.

She added the cited figure of £1m was "not that great" in terms of the local economy.

Whitwell residents have already formed an action group to oppose the plans for the new attraction. "This would change life in the village forever, and at no real benefit to us residents," member Jane Shelton said.

"The design won't be in accordance with how the rest of the village looks, instead, they're going for their own aesthetics.

"That might work in Texas, but in a small Derbyshire village all the lights will disturb wildlife and residents alike."

"We don't have space for 900 cars to be travelling in and out," Ms Shelton said. "It will cause emissions, dirt, and people won't interact with the local infrastructure or bring any benefit to the village.

"This is an urban development and nothing for a small village - it would change the way of the land altogether."

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The company said recruitment would "target" the local community and it hoped to fill the majority of vacancies locally, with staff accommodation acting as a "contingency, should the need arise."

A spokesperson for Great Wolf Resorts said: "At all of our U.S. resorts, we've found that our guests will visit local restaurants and cafes on their journey to and from the Lodge, as well as during their stay."

"We aim to be a part of the overall tourist economy and fully expect there to be benefits to other tourism venues in the Bolsover district and the wider Derbyshire area."

They added there would be "arrival flexibility" for guests, and they cited "detailed traffic studies and reports", which indicate that "even during what is historically our peak arrival time, there would only be an additional two cars per minute - resulting in a negligible impact on the environment".

The firm went on: "Our modelling included all motorways and roads leading to and from our resort, and importantly we conducted all our traffic surveys during Derbyshire school term times so they would fully represent normal patterns of traffic. We deliberately avoided school holiday periods.

"Our development will also provide a better link to the public right of way that bisects our development from our rewilded land and this will provide a local benefit for the community to link more readily from Clowne to the north of the A619 and back to Wildes Inns or towards Whitwell Common and Whitwell Village."