Hmmm, all very interesting! Got to admit I wasn't expecting an EIA screening opinion request for this, funnily enough it looks like this was submitted pretty much exactly a year after the one they submitted for the original (and likely better) SW8 over in Forbidden Valley.
Clearly they've decided to stick with a wooden coaster. I'd imagine the final layout will be similar to what is seen in these plans but changes are quite possible, especially as the coaster does sit on land covered by permitted development rights. The layout at present does look a little short which is a shame, a few more twists and turns wouldn't go amiss.
This is clearly a wooden coaster. And it's also clearly a very small scale coaster that does not take advantage of the space around it. There is an unused old coach park the other side of the path crying out for development, and there are the woods where the extended part of the flume currently resides waiting for something else. But no, instead of having a woodie swooping over the paths in Katanga and intruding into the space of where the flume used to sit, we see a very reserved footprint barely leaving the current flume queue/station area, with a drop followed by about 4 turns before arriving back at the station.
I agree that it would be great to make more use of other space. However I think there are valid reasons for them not, especially the woodlands beyond the deer wall where the Flume is situated. As soon as you start building a coaster in there the chances of receiving planning permission fall dramatically (in my opinion). It is a very sensitive area of the park and the Concept Plan for Alton Towers in the Churnet Valley Masterplan actually zones this area as part of the Gardens. I was in an area of the Gardens the other week looking up at where the Flume is and did think if a wooden coaster was in that area the noise would really intrude on a relatively peaceful part of the park.
At a pinch you could get a quieter steel coaster in there which requires less supporting but a densely supported wooden coaster would be pushing it I feel. The fact they aren't going to remove the Flume's footers from this area shows how sensitive it is.
I personally feel all of this is very similar to InvadR at BGW. Both parks are crying out for a world class wooden coaster yet both are getting what will no doubt be good fun woodies, but not as good as each park really should be getting.
It is a real pity that the original SW8 plans fell through as they sounded so much better! I'm not passing any real judgement on this for now though. We barely have any details and what we do have is subject to change. The full planning application later this year will tell us much more!
