CAMPAIGNERS fighting to stop the £300 million winter sports resort SnOasis will see one of their star witnesses take the stand as the public inquiry resumes today.

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to stop the £300 million winter sports resort SnOasis will see one of their star witnesses take the stand as the public inquiry resumes today.

The scheme at Great Blakenham near Ipswich, would be East Anglia's biggest development since the Port of Felixstowe. It includes a giant ski slope, ice rink, casino, nightclub, hotel, restaurants, railway station and hundreds of new homes.

Despite gaining Mid Suffolk District Council's backing, the Government decided to call in the plans for an inquiry.

The six-week hearing, which before being adjourned heard from a string of experts representing both developers, the council, and those with grave concerns, resumes again today at the Corn Exchange in Ipswich.

The community alliance's twelfth witness, one of the country's top environmental planning experts Dr Wendy Le Las, will be giving evidence.

She is expected to tell the inspector John Gray that the SnOasis ski slope would offer nothing that is not available elsewhere, and raise concerns about light pollution from the site.

The SnOasis project has divided opinion, with many welcoming enormous economic and jobs benefits predicted by the developers, and others fiercely opposed to potential increases in traffic and light pollution and environmental impact.

Godfrey Spanner, the developer behind the complex, argues that he is creating a world class attraction in Suffolk and he is confident of persuading the Government of its merits.

The inquiry starts from 10am today and will continue until Friday, with final submissions from the developers, the council and SnOasis opponents.