Godfrey Spanner, managing director of developer Onslow Suffolk, has confirmed that construction of the winter sports complex is now on track to start after years of planning delays.

Onslow Suffolk aims to create a large winter sports complex with an indoor ski slope and ice rink on the former quarry in Great Blakenham.

Spanner said that the company managed to sign all legal agreements on Christmas Eve paving the way for preliminary works to begin.

“We’re ready to apply for the newt licence to allow us to get on with the ecology during January.”

Essex-based building contractor, Mountfield Group has been selected as a preferred building contractor for several construction contracts.

The contractor is already in negotiations with Onslow regarding the first stage of contract works for building the community centre for the SnOasis village which will include retail, medical units and a police station.

The SnOasis complex will also contain 350 log cabins and a 350-bed four-star hotel and conference centre capable of seating 1,000 delegates.

There are also separate plans to build 500 homes around the site, which Persimmon Homes has been in talks about delivering.

The ambitious scheme, which could become the home of the winter Olympics team, has suffered several planning set backs over the years.

Spanner told a BBC reporter: “We’re scheduled to open for the second quarter of 2014 but at this minute I’m working with the team to see if we couldn’t get the snow dome itself operating before that time”.

“One of the planning conditions is that we must start the snow dome first, so if we’re going to do that we ought to open it up to our athletes and to the public before the rest of the development is opened.

“It just means that people can’t stay on the site, which is our overall intention.”