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[202X] Project Horizon (SW9?): Planning Approved

It should be noted that 82% of respondents supposedly supported the investment at the public consultation, with only 6% objecting (https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/news/...resort-for-project-horizon-indoor-attraction/). Even 59% of respondents supported the planned location, with only 6% objecting.

Maybe Alton Parish Council are simply a vocal minority? Parish Councils may not necessarily affect these things; my village’s Parish Council strongly objected to a wind turbine being built, with flyers being distributed trying to stop its construction, but it still got built.

As others have said, I also think that the reasons for objection may also be considered.
 
From looking at the objections it looks as if they are all from one family who live right down the hill from where the new attraction would be, with the parish council response being worded almost identically to one of the other individual responses. I think this might be a case of a single household objecting rather than a wave of rejection from the local area as a whole. Like someone mentioned though this could be from memories of attractions in that area before and the disruption it caused and so could see it being taken seriously.

I don't really get the argument though of the proximity to the Flag Tower when there is attraction/mazes which are constructed in and around the Towers themselves.
 
TomW said:
I don't really get the argument though of the proximity to the Flag Tower when there is attraction/mazes which are constructed in and around the Towers themselves.
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I imagine the difference is those attractions are considered temporary, even Hex. They could (and one day will be) removed easily and the site would be as if they never existed.

You also have the fact that even with those attractions installed the view of the site isn't really changed.

A permanent building is a very different thing, it changes the landscape 'forever', and if it is visible in sightlines of the Tower it could be argued it detracts from a significant historic structure.

I'm going to guess any objection due to noise will be fruitless, it should be easy for them to control noise levels able to escape the building, and construction noise will only be temporary.
 
pluk said:
I imagine the difference is those attractions are considered temporary, even Hex. They could (and one day will be) removed easily and the site would be as if they never existed.

You also have the fact that even with those attractions installed the view of the site isn't really changed.

A permanent building is a very different thing, it changes the landscape 'forever', and if it is visible in sightlines of the Tower it could be argued it detracts from a significant historic structure.
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Yeah this makes sense, I do actually remember reading somewhere that part of the planning of Hex stipulated that everything would be put back to its previous state at the end of the attraction's lifespan which wouldnt really be achievable with a building like Horizon's.

Just out of interest, is the Flag Tower entirely within a backstage area of the park or is there any public footpaths etc. which take you near to it?
 
So am I right in reading that most of the objections come from one particularly vocal household?

That changes things a bit… I’d imagine the council may well view them as simply a vocal minority rather than the majority of residents.

For what it’s worth, 82% of consultation respondents supported the investment, with only 6% objecting, and 59% of respondents supported the location, with only 6% objecting.

On a side note; how are you all viewing the objections? The planning portal is completely unviewable for me; it throws an error every time I try and open it.
 
TomW said:
Yeah this makes sense, I do actually remember reading somewhere that part of the planning of Hex stipulated that everything would be put back to its previous state at the end of the attraction's lifespan which wouldnt really be achievable with a building like Horizon's.

Just out of interest, is the Flag Tower entirely within a backstage area of the park or is there any public footpaths etc. which take you near to it?
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It's in a backstage area. No public footpaths.
 
All the public comments against this have zeroed in on the building being visible over/through the tree line and especially during the winter when the trees are bare.

Not sure how viable an evergreen planting plan to call their bluff would be, given the height of the building.
 
Dobba said:
All the public comments against this have zeroed in on the building being visible over/through the tree line and especially during the winter when the trees are bare.

Not sure how viable an evergreen planting plan to call their bluff would be, given the height of the building.
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Isn’t a lot of Alton Towers technically visible above the tree line if viewed from the right angle and in the right conditions? For instance, I seem to remember hearing that Oblivion and Rita definitely are, and this was part of the reason for the highest point on Rita being painted dark green rather than pink.

Where can the objections be viewed, out of interest?
 
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pluk said:
I imagine the difference is those attractions are considered temporary, even Hex. They could (and one day will be) removed easily and the site would be as if they never existed.
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Hex's vault is a permanent building and as such would have needed planning permission, removing it would still leave a huge basement. What you're probably thinking of is Hex's interiors in the ruins, which are built in such a way that it doesn't affect the building. Also the MMM studios in that area which are temporary buildings so that they don't require planning permission.

I think Hex got planning permission due to it being a smaller scale, further away from the village and it was done in exchange for restoring areas of the ruins.

The early developments in that area, the David Walliams buildings and stuff, I don't think would get permitted today because of their location by the ruins
 
Matt N said:
Isn’t a lot of Alton Towers technically visible above the tree line if viewed from the right angle and in the right conditions? For instance, I seem to remember hearing that Oblivion and Rita definitely are, and this was part of the reason for the highest point on Rita being painted dark green rather than pink.

Where can the objections be viewed, out of interest?
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When it is working they're towards the bottom of the document list on the Planning Portal.
 
Matt.GC said:
Why on earth would anyone object to a harmless wind turbine? What is wrong with people?
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I seem to remember that the objections were mainly on the basis of visuals; the objections were about it being “an eyesore obstructing our beautiful countryside” or something along those lines.

There were also concerns about the noise it would make when operating from those who lived nearest to the turbine.

It was built in the middle of a field between my village and the next village, and the Parish Councils of both villages objected to it.

It generated quite a furore and took a good couple of years to get off the ground; there were signs stuck on lampposts and fliers sent door-to-door saying “Say NO to the turbine”, and there were even mini protests of sorts from local residents. There was a whole “Say NO to the turbine” team set up by local residents for the sole purpose of protesting against the turbine, with quite a number of people in it. A good few of my older relatives were in it, come to think of it…

Ultimately, their battle was futile, as it eventually got built and has now been operating for a good few years…
 
Niet Roken said:
Hex's vault is a permanent building and as such would have needed planning permission, removing it would still leave a huge basement. What you're probably thinking of is Hex's interiors in the ruins, which are built in such a way that it doesn't affect the building. Also the MMM studios in that area which are temporary buildings so that they don't require planning permission.
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Nope, it is a temporary building, its permission only extends to the life of the attraction. When the ride goes the building goes and they are compelled to return the site to as it was.
 
pluk said:
Nope, it is a temporary building, its permission only extends to the life of the attraction. When the ride goes the building goes and they are compelled to return the site to as it was.
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That is correct, it was a condition of the planning permission.
 
pluk said:
Nope, it is a temporary building, its permission only extends to the life of the attraction. When the ride goes the building goes and they are compelled to return the site to as it was.
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Sorry I meant temporary as in planning terms, a temporary building would be classed as not requiring planning permission to build, like the MMM Studios using the space currently. What you're describing is a planning condition for a building that otherwise is a permanent construction and has no fixed end date.

So what I mean is Project Horizon may have a similar situation with heritage planning, but not impossible to pass even for a building of this size (hopefully). It may run into different kinds of planning problems though.
 
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