Oak Holdings plc - Leisure Development - The YES! Project
Date: 04 Aug 2005
The YES! project, the £300 million tourist destination planned for South Yorkshire, has received the support of Sheffield Council, who previously had registered an objection to the scheme. Planning was submitted in late January for the scheme, to be situated on the Rotherham/Sheffield border adjacent to the Rother Valley Country Park.
Developer Oak Holdings plc, Rotherham Borough Council and Sheffield City Council have agreed that the proposal, which has also met with approval by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, will have more sports and daytime leisure facilities designed to complement the surroundings Rother Valley Country Park.
A world-class white-water canoeing course and an extreme sports venue are just a few of the attractions being planned for the £300 million Yorkshire Entertainment Sensation (YES) development next to Rother Valley Country Park.
Oak Holdings Executive Chairman, Malcolm Savage said the company was delighted that all parties are now united in support of the YES! Project. He said: "We have received so much interest in the sporting and daytime leisure aspects of the scheme that we have deciced to focus on these to complement the surroundings of the Rother Valley Country Park. We anticipate that the scheme will no move forward quickly with the combined advantages of having support from nearby councils, support from Peel Holdings, which is the developer behind the nearby Robin Hood airport and, of course, our prospective partners Venue Solutions and Sony with which we have just signed Memorandums of Understanding."
YES! will regenerate 320 acres (130 hectares) of brownfield land at the former Pithouse West cole mine and the potential for jobs stands at around 2,700, in a wide range of skills. It is calculated to become the largest of its type in Europe and is forecast to attract many thousands of visitors to the area, boosting the entire South Yorkshire economy.
The application will now go through the formal planning process conducted by Rotherham Borough Council. Sheffield City Council and Yorkshire Forward will be formally consulted along with many other organisations before members of the authority's Planning Board consider the application. It will then be referred to Government Office because of the scale and location of the project.
The Leader of Rotherham Borough Council, Councillor Roger Stone, said: "We are delighted to have been able to work together with Sheffield, Yorkshire Forward and the developers to come up with an excellent scheme that will benefit residents and visitors in both authorities. This is an exciting development that will complement Rother Valley Country Park that is used and enjoyed by thousands of people each year from Rotherham, Sheffield and beyond."
Councillor Jan Wilson, the Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: "I am pleased that our colleagues in Rotherham and Yorkshire Forward together with the developers have worked together with us to examine these proposals and to look seriously at Sheffield's concerns. I am pleased that we have made such good progress in resolving these complicated issues."
CGI image of the YES! Project
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