Prime Minister David Cameron has fired the starter pistol on plans for a £400m (US$608m, €525m) leisure, health, sport and education destination on a reclaimed opencast mining site in Chesterfield.

On a recent visit to the US, the UK premier announced a raft of bilateral investment deals worth more than £1.1bn (US$1.7bn, €1.4bn), with Chesterfield being the standout story.

The Peak Resort project aims to bring together leading hospitality, university, sport and medical expertise and will have 600 holiday apartments, hotel and hostel units, with 250 woodland lodges.

A new Regeneration Investment Organisation, bringing together the two main investors – Birchall Properties, led by Rupert Carr, and the US-owned Grand Heritage Hotel Group – will be created to lead the project. Architecture Practice Stanton Williams has designed the masterplan.

Work will start on site between March and April, with the goal of creating a year-round tourism and leisure destination on the edge of the Peak District National Park.

Set within a 300-acre managed park, in addition to accommodation the complex is expected to feature an 18-hole PGA standard golf course, a 6-hole golf academy and a range of other facilities including a sports medical centre, spa, conference centre, indoor adventure sports park, covered lawn games arena and biking.

Welcoming the deal, David Cameron said: “This partnership between US investor Grand Heritage Hotel Group and a UK development company will deliver a phenomenal boost to the leisure industry in the Peak District.

“This £400m investment will deliver a world-class resort complex creating over 1,300 permanent jobs when it is completed and supporting hundreds of construction jobs as the site is developed.”