Ski slope undergoes £600,000 refit

Nov 14 2012

A major refit has been completed at Europe's largest dry ski slope just two years after it was threatened with closure.

The Midlothian Snowsports Centre, at Hillend in Edinburgh, which caters for all types of snowsports from skiing to snowboarding, has had a £600,000 upgrade.

Members of the public are now able to enjoy the new facilities at the centre, also known as Hillend Ski Slope, where peak visitor times are between November and March.

During the next two weeks the centre will be operating limited opening of the new facilities during daylight hours, to allow for a period of testing, after which the additional ski runs will be open fully.

The upgrading included an additional 210-metre slope on the hill, 60 metres of new nursery slope with new, safer ski matting, an extension and improvement work to existing nursery slopes and the installation of new travellator uplift systems.

The centre was threatened with closure in 2010 after the council said it could no longer afford to indefinitely fund it.

However, two injections of cash from sportscotland and the Scottish Government, announced in February 2011, were accepted by the local authority.

Midlothian Council owns and runs the Snowsports Centre and worked with an expert team of designers on the improvements.

Midlothian Council leader Bob Constable said: "If you haven't visited the Midlothian Snowsports Centre in a while, you'll be delighted with all our new facilities, including the longest and most exciting dry ski slope in Europe. The improvements put our ski centre on the map as Scotland's premier snowsports attraction."

Stewart Harris, chief executive of sportscotland, said: "The fabulous improvements which have been carried out at Midlothian Snowsport Centre will encourage even more people on to the slopes in the coming months."