Sheffield Ski Village “Unlikely to Ever Reopen”
Sheffield Ski Village “Unlikely to Ever Reopen”
Published : 26-Feb-2013 06:28
(indoor snow centres are attracting business from dry slopes)
Sheffield Ski Village, once Europe's largest artificial-surface snow centre, will probably never re-open according to its owner.
Buildings at the complex were destroyed by a series or arson attacks last spring and subsequently the large area has become a magnet for criminals seeking metal and any other items it is possible to sell, as well as a constant run of destruction by vandals.
Despite the now derelict and dangerous sate of the centre that are still believed to be attempts by local ski clubs to work out a way to use the slopes again. The UK's most successful ever down hill snowsports competitor, 'Woodsy,' learned his skills in Sheffield before winning two successive world cup stages this winter, a feat never before achieved by a British competitor in the modern era.
However the site's owner Kevin Pullan told the local Sheffield Star newspaper that he is no longer able to get insurance on the site.
"It's the forgotten area of Sheffield," Mr Pullen told The Star. "When we took over in 2007 there was talk of the landfill site eventually closing and a huge park being created, and there was talk of EU grants for the area, but all that seems to have fizzled out.
As well as being unable to protect the site, Mr Pullman said a growing gypsy camp had appeared at the ski village. He said he did not blame the police or Sheffield council with the former fully stretched and the latter lacing funds.
The Ski Village operated from 1988 to 2012 and employed approximately 50 people.
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