SNOASIS bosses have enlisted the help of the man who oversaw construction of Heathrow's Terminal 5 to build the huge indoor ski slope planned for Great Blakenham.

SNOASIS bosses have enlisted the help of the man who oversaw construction of Heathrow's Terminal 5 to build the huge indoor ski slope planned for Great Blakenham.

Gary Sullivan from Essex-based Wilson James, a firm specialising in construction and aviation logistics and consultancy, is heading Onslow Suffolk's planning for constructing the £300million winter sports resort.

He has worked with Onslow for the past five years but was brought before the press yesterday as the company reemphasised its push to win government backing for the scheme.

Mr Sullivan oversaw the successful on-time delivery of the huge T5 project, which later faced problems when it opened.

He will now face a similar - although many would say simpler - task in building SnOasis but only if the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears, gives the final green light in September.

He said even though it had taken SnOasis seven years to get to this stage that sort of time frame was not uncommon for projects of that size.

“All things considered we're there or thereabouts or even ahead of where other super projects have been,” he said.

Mr Sullivan said the construction process would see large parts of the SnOasis development built off-site, reducing up to 60per cent of construction traffic movements to Great Blakenham.

Onslow Suffolk brought its experts to Ipswich yesterday to stress that its planning for SnOasis was moving ahead at full speed.

Last week the government announced it was minded to approve the winter sports resort planned for the former Mason's quarry as long as SnOasis could overcome two environmental issues - the proper handling of the relocation of great crested newts and a reduction in the scheme's reliance on traditional energy sources.

In doing so it approved the construction of a new railway station for Great Blakenham, as long as SnOasis goes ahead, and also approved the construction of a 421-home housing development on the former Blue Circle cement works site adjacent to the SnOasis site by Persimmon Homes.

Godfrey Spanner, Onslow Suffolk's managing director, said the target for SnOasis' opening was 2012.

He said the company remained totally committed to delivering the project.

“We've worked on this for eight years. It has always been going to happen.”

Do you think SnOasis should be built? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk