A £250 MILLION leisure complex which would have turned Leigh into a major tourist attraction and created 3,000 jobs has been blocked by the Government.

The futuristic Xanadu complex, featuring sports and leisure facilities including a snowdome and cinemas, was first revealed in August 1996.

A prolonged battle and several design changes followed as the scheme attracted the support of Wigan Council, but protests from environmentalists and residents who did not want Xanadu on their doorstep.

The council, which supported the plans by Greenbank Partnerships Ltd and Moorfield Estates plc, was amazed and disappointed at the decision to refuse permission.

Council chiefs said an opportunity to transform Leigh and the wider region had been lost, although they insisted the site still has tremendous potential.

The council was also concerned that it has taken two years since a public inquiry got under way, and more than 18 months since it finished, for a decision to be announced.

Millions

The £250m leisure attraction, based on a revolutionary "real snow" concept, would have created 3,000 jobs and attracted millions of visitors.

Wigan Council leader Lord Peter Smith said: "I find it hard to understand the inspector's advice which has led to the Secretary of State's decision.

"This development would have been one of the most important leisure schemes in Europe and would have transformed not just Leigh and our borough but the wider region. Xanadu had the support of the regional development agency, the business community and many thousands of local people."

"The developers worked long and hard with the council to ensure that it conformed to the Government's strategies on public transport, tourism and the environment.

"It is a tragedy that something that would have done so much for jobs, the economy and local leisure facilities has been rejected for reasons that are not at first sight very convincing."

Leigh MP Andy Burnham said: "I think it is the wrong decision. It is a body blow for the area. We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and look to the future. Xanadu has raised the regeneration issue and we need regeneration in the town."

But No Xanadu campaign chairman Chris Maile was ecstatic. He said: "This is the best news we could possibly have had. All that is left now is to party and I am sure many in Pennington will be doing that."