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DEVELOPER SOUGHT FOR PROPOSED INDOOR SKI SLOPE IN SUNDERLAND

01/02/2010

A developer is being sought to build the region’s first indoor real snow ski slope in Sunderland.

Stadium Village, which is already home to the Stadium of Light and the £20 million Sunderland Aquatic Centre, has been earmarked for the new snow and ice centre.

It is the next phase in an ambitious plan by regeneration company Sunderland arc to create a thriving sports village in the city.

Chairman of Sunderland arc, John Anderson QA CBE, said the scheme, which would be the only one of its kind in the North East, would help to establish Sunderland as a regional hub for sports and leisure.

He said: “Stadium Village forms an important part of the city’s wider regeneration plan. It already boasts world-class sports and leisure facilities and further exciting developments such as the proposed indoor ski slope will cement Sunderland as a regional sporting destination.”

The multi-million pound development could also house an ice rink plus other leisure facilities, specialist sports shops, bars and restaurants.

A notice asking for expressions of interest has this week been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The facility would be the only one of its kind between Leeds and Glasgow and is part of a comprehensive regeneration scheme for the area that includes other state-of-the-art sports, health and leisure uses, new offices, a hotel and housing. These uses are set out in a Development Framework, prepared by Sunderland City Council and Sunderland arc, which has been out to public consultation.

More than 80 per cent of the site needed for the snow and ice facility has already been acquired by the arc and its partners, One North East, the City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency.

Cllr Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Sunderland is renowned for its sporting passion and the proposal for a real snow ski centre has already received overwhelming support and enthusiasm from the people that live here.”

Sunderland has a potential catchment population of 2.65 million people within a one and a half hour drive time and 3.52 million within two hours drive time.

Simon Elliot, Property Development Manager at Sunderland arc, said: “With the nearest real snow slopes at Castleford, Manchester and Glasgow, Sunderland is ideally located to capitalise on demand for such a facility.

“We have already received strong interest from leisure developers and look forward to seeing what proposals are put forward. We are particularly interested to find out what other uses potential partners will propose which complement the ski element of the scheme as this will be crucial to its long term success.”

Neil Graham, Head of Capital Development at One North East, which has funded a number of land acquisitions on the site, said: “This site offers a superb opportunity to bring forward a leisure facility unique to the North East, in a key gateway location between the Stadium and the city centre.”

Pat Ritchie, regional director of the Homes and Communities Agency in the North East, said: “The planned proposal is the next step in the progression of Stadium Village and an exciting development for Sunderland and the region.”

For more information or to request a pre-qualification questionnaire please contact Simon Elliot at Sunderland arc on 0191 5689880 or email simon@sunderlandarc.co.uk

Further details are available at www.sunderlandarc.co.uk


ENDS
 

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