Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to discuss whether Great Wolf Resorts should build large indoor water park and resort in Basingstoke

A major US-based leisure operator has expressed interest in bringing a large indoor water park and resort to North Hampshire.

The proposed and expansive resort would feature a 500-bedroom hotel, conference facilities, and leisure offerings including mini-golf, mini-bowling, ropes course, games arcade and selection of restaurants, cafés and bars.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council launched a national and international marketing campaign to encourage leisure attraction developers to invest in the Basingstoke Leisure Park, and as a result of this, Great Wolf Resorts expressed interest in the 27-acre council-owned site.

Councillor John Izett (Con, Evingar) said: “Interest from Great Wolf Resorts is great news for the borough and its residents.

“Having looked at location options across the South of England, it is awesome that the company wants to develop its next resort here in Basingstoke.

“A Great Wolf indoor water park resort in Basingstoke would bring some £275 million of investment, many new visitors to our borough, many good job opportunities and a material and long term [benefit] for the local economy.”

The council expects the resort to attract up to 600,000 extra visitors a year to the borough, provide over 600 jobs and bring “substantial economic benefits to the town and wider borough”.

The borough council is considering selling the land on which currently lies the Basingstoke Golf Centre to Great Wolf so the US company can build the large resort on the site.

The golf centre facilities would be relocated elsewhere.

Even if the redevelopment was to get the go-ahead and gain planning permission, the site is likely to continue to run as a golf centre under the current contract until the end of December 2025.

Great Wolf Resorts currently operates 19 Great Wolf Lodge branded resorts in the United States and Canada, designed around family holidays.

It recently received planning permission to build its first UK resort near Bicester in Oxfordshire.

The proposed resort concept and sale of land will be discussed at a meeting next Tuesday (March 7) when then borough council’s cabinet will consider whether to progress formal negotiations with Great Wolf Resorts to sell Basingstoke Golf Centre as a location for the development.