Birmingham developer gets £270m Swindon ski and leisure plans approved

Birmingham developer SevenCapital has secured planning for a £270m ski, retail and leisure scheme.

Phase 1 of the North Star Village in Swindon was given the go ahead, less than 17 months after the developer took the reins on the project.

The North Star Village complex will feature around 500,000 sq ft of retail, dining and leisure, including one of the UK’s largest ski and snow centres, with two real snow indoor ski slopes. It will also house a 13-screen cinema, including Europe’s largest IMAX screen, along with a 19-lane bowling alley and circa 27,000 sq ft of trampolining.

Once operational, the development is expected to attract an annual footfall of 3.3 million people, with a projected catchment area of 10 million people reaching into Wales, the South East and South West of the country.

SevenCapital has already cemented an agreement with a major funder and secured 50% pre-lets ahead of planning consent.

Confirmed operators for the North Star Village include The Snow Centre, Empire Cinemas, Hollywood Bowl and top mountain sports retailer Ellis Brigham.

John Watkins, director at SevenCapital said: “We’re thrilled with the decision to grant full planning approval for the North Star Village. Since taking on the project in July 2017 the team has worked tirelessly to deliver on our promises to submit plans for an exciting regional leisure and retail destination that Swindon and the wider UK will benefit from significantly.

“We have delivered on all our planning promises and are now looking forward to getting on site and bringing those plans to life.”

With funding in place, SevenCapital hopes to be on site in May 2019 and expects the build to take a little under two years.