Plans for huge ski resort in Valleys are unveiled
PLANS to build the longest ski slope in the UK have been launched.
The Rhydycar west site, in Merthyr Tydfil, would also be home to a National Centre of Excellence for the Great Britain snow sports team for Olympic athletes, as well as an indoor water park, ziplines, a spa hotel and an equestrian centre.
The Team GB ski and snowboard team currently travels year-round to indoor ski centres in Europe.
The 500m ski slope would use an existing one at the site, which was acquired in 2013 by Marvel Limited with a £450m investment, and would eclipse the 180m slope at Chill Factore in Manchester.
If approved, the project could create 800 jobs at the site, which is close to the Trago Mills store and Cyfarthfa Retail Park along the A470.
A planning application is due to be submitted in the autumn.
The plans include indoor skiing and snowboarding on a 500m long slope; indoor biking and skateboarding; indoor water park with surf simulator; ziplines; a spa hotel; a sport hotel; log cabins and glamping area; a new residential neighbourhood of 600 homes; an airpark; an equestrian centre; and heritage trails.
The centre is modelled on sites in Europe, such as the Snow Arena in Lithuania, which has two indoor slopes, outdoor skiing tracks, snow park and a recreation complex that includes restaurants, and the Netherlands-based SnowWorld at Landgraaf, which has 35,000m of snow, five slopes (the longest being 520m), a fun park and integrated hotel and restaurants.
The Rhydycar West ski resort would aim to resemble an authentic Alpine resort and the team behind the plans believe the new facility could revolutionise the UK school ski trip.
Schools trips to the Alps involve a huge amount of travel time and cost, while the Rhydycar Snow Centre believes it could offer a more viable solution.
A three-night stay, they say, could provide as much “on the snow time” as a week in the Alps with all of the teaching and equipment included at a reduced cost and could be available in the summer holidays.
Robin Kellen, chief executive of Snowsport Cymru Wales, has identified the Rhydycar site as the preferred location to develop a National Centre of Excellence and host to a UK training centre for team GB Snow sports Olympic elite athletes – allowing elite skiers and boarders to design training around their needs.
Mr Kellen said: “If Team GB want to achieve their goal of top five snow sport nation in the world by 2030, many of our future elite athletes haven’t started skiing or boarding yet. It’s about finding the next generation of talent by getting more and new people involved.”
Dan Hunt, the performance director of British Ski and Snowboard, said: “I am very excited by the prospect of having a national training centre of excellence for snow sports in Wales.”
Mr Kellen added: “I know the passion and enthusiasm in the UK of all abilities for snow sports. That passion feeds an industry of aligned snow sport services, organisations and commercial opportunities. I am reaching out to the UK snow sport fraternity asking them to show huge support for the Rhydycar Snow centre as it moves to the formal planning process.
“Please visit www.rhydycarwest.com, and click on ‘Get in touch’ with your comments or support for the proposals. “We would love to hear from you.” Marvel Limited Guernsey has signed an agreement with Snowsport Cymru Wales to work together on the delivery of the facility.
Leigh Large, of Marvel, said: “We feel it’s inevitable that a UK Snow sport centre of excellence will be built somewhere in the UK soon. This initiative puts Wales in pole position to claim it.”