Update given on plans for leisure development on banks of River Ribble

Funding has been obtained for a long-proposed leisure development that will see a water sports lake, dry ski slope and mountain bike track created on the banks of the River Ribble in Preston.

Planning permission for the scheme was granted by Preston City Council back in August 2023 as part of a vision for a radical revamp of the existing Phoenix Park site – home to Trax Off Road Motorsport – near Preston Marina.

However, work on the Wallend Road blueprint has yet to begin – and it has now emerged that the past three years have been spent searching for the financial backing needed to get the ambitious proposal off the drawing board.

Documents recently submitted to the city authority state that the applicant, Trax Motorsport founder Eddie Sloane, has “been in the process of securing funding for the project” – and has now done so.

The plans – which will occupy just under a third of the 33-hectare plot – are centred around a so-called ‘leisure lake’ offering sports including water-skiing, windsurfing, canoeing and stand-up paddle boarding.

In addition, 13 lodges are to be built on the lakeside and used as “transitional accommodation” for post-16-year-old students in the care system – to give them a greater degree of independence, while still providing the ongoing support and supervision that they require.

The site is currently dominated by motocross and go-karting facilities which, while open to the public, are part of a wider project providing training and education facilities for children in care.

However, the new scheme to sit alongside that offering may still be some way off being delivered, because of a raft of conditions that have to be fulfilled before construction can get under way.

Under the original planning approval, the council insisted no development could take place until full details of strategies to deal with issues including drainage, land remediation, tree protection and habitat enhancement had been provided and given the green light.

Town hall planners also stipulated that a start must be made on site within three years of permission being granted by the authority’s planning committee – a deadline that is now looming on the horizon in a matter of weeks..

The complex nature of many of the conditions means they will take longer than the limited time left to discharge them.   To ensure permission for the project does not lapse, the applicant has asked the city council to allow the creation of an access road – which will qualify as work beginning at the location – in advance of the other conditions being met.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service approached the planning agent for the scheme to ask when the project was likely to be completed and to offer the applicant the opportunity to comment.

However, the submission made to council planners warns that several of the conditions – particularly one relating to the assessment of any contaminated land –  require “extensive investigative work to be undertaken, including [digging] boreholes and trial pits”.

Trax Motorsport Ltd. was formed in December 2000 and was designed to help the city council and police combat antisocial behaviour, including the illegal riding of motorcycles on public land and spaces.

It created a safely managed site for motorsport, located on land formerly known as Preston Dockland, for young people and enthusiasts to ride off-road motorcycles.

Leisure development details

Leisure Lake

Located at the western end of the site, the lake will be used for canoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and windsurfing. Water-skiing will also be on offer via a mechanical pulley system which will operate within a confined area.

Open water swimming and fishing will be available and the lake will be open for public group bookings.

The body of water will be two metres at its deepest point and around three hectares in area. The south bank will include two crescent-moon-shaped sandy beaches, separated by the water-skiing dock.

Ski Slope

The slope will be 12 metres high at its western end dropping to the existing ground level to the east – and 95 metres long in total. It will have a gradient of 11 degrees.

The facility will be created using inert material imported onto the site and formed into the shape of the slope. A special mesh material will be used to form the skiing surface, similar to that used at other dry ski slopes across the country.

The south and western slopes are to incorporate solar panels to provide renewable energy to drive the ski lift that will take users to the top of the slope. All embankments and sides of the slope will be landscaped with planting specifically selected to work with the solar panels.

The feature is to be built to the south west of the existing motocross track.

Mountain Bike Track

The track will run alongside the ski slope and provide a downhill run on which cyclists can practise. That part of the slope will be dressed with a dirt material and feature undulations to recreate the experience of a downhill mountain bike run.

The ski slope and mountain bike track will be open to young people living on the site, along with others from local schools and the community.

Source: Planning application to Preston City Council