Alton Towers held a public exhibition on Monday 19th September to discuss a proposal for a new indoor attraction on the former site of Alton Mouse in Coaster Corner. Alton Towers submitted a full planning application to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council back in November and it has now been confirmed that planning permission has been approved for the £12.5 Million Indoor Coaster “Project Horizon”.
Although we originally assumed that this could be SW9 (Secret Weapon 9), this has still not been officially confirmed by Alton Towers. However, now consultant and retired theme park ride designer, John Wardley has supposedly been talking about the impressive technology that is being developed for a SW9 roller coaster. Currently, this indoor attraction has been given the name “Project Horizon”.
The planning application is for the construction of a new building to house an indoor attraction which is expected to cost approximately £12.5 million. The entrance to this building will be from between The Alton Towers Dungeon and The World of David Walliams.
From the planning documents, the proposal includes an attraction building of approximately 71m in length, 46m in width and 19.4m in height.
Certain concerns have arisen from the planning application including the proposed colour of the outside of the building but now that the planning application has been approved, the next step for Alton Towers is to address the various planning conditions before construction work can commence. We are expecting to see the submission of ‘discharge of condition’ applications over the coming months after which work on site will begin.
Construction on Project Horizon is still expected to begin in Spring 2023 and the new roller coaster is currently slated to open in Spring 2025.
For further information regarding this application, check out this from Towers Times. Are you excited about Project Horizon? What type of roller coaster would you like to see coming to Alton Towers? What should it be themed to? Let us know your thoughts and comments by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page.
We will keep you updated on further details and concept art when it is released on our news and Facebook page.
