Work is set to begin next week on Chill Factor E, an indoor real snow ski slope and Alpine village, next to the Trafford Centre in Manchester.
Due to open in October 2007, the £31m, 23,225 sq m (250,000sq ft) scheme, which is designed to appeal to proficient skiers and snowboarders as well as beginners and families, will be split into two areas – cold and warm.
The cold area will boast three separate, but interconnected, ski-slopes and a toboggan run as well as a children’s snow-play zone with igloos, ice-castles, slides and snowman-building.
The warm zone will feature Alpine bars and restaurants with panoramic views overlooking the slopes.
The complex will also include a rock-climbing wall and an indoor skateboard park.
Chair of Chill Factor E's development company, Extreme Cool – and former managing director of Center Parcs – Peter Moore, said: “Chill Factor E is much more than a conventional indoor ski slope – it offers a complete leisure experience that people will want to return to time and time again.
“With a separate nursery slope, a toboggan run and a snowplay zone for the kids, the activities will be outstanding but the atmosphere off-piste will also form a key part of the day’s enjoyment.
“We want people to enjoy the off-piste buzz of a little Alpine village so we have focused on creating a complete destination where the sports facilities and the retail and dining complement each other. Just like the best ski resorts, it will be a great mix of skiers, boarders, shoppers and people of all ages out for a meal or a drink in a great environment.”
Planning permission for Chill Factor E was applied for jointly with Peel Holdings, owner of the Trafford Centre, and received in April 2005. The complex has been designed by FaulknerBrowns and will be built by Sir Robert McAlpine.
The project is being funded though a Senior Development Loan from The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and equity investment from Bridges Community Ventures – a community development venture capital company which invests in ambitious businesses in regeneration areas – and Pemberstone Group, a privately owned property and private equity investment group.
Philip Newborough, managing director of Bridges Community Ventures, said: “We believe this leisure development has exciting commercial potential.
"We also see strong benefits for the area such as new employment opportunities and the promotion of health and fitness in the local community and wider region through its unparalleled facilities for skiing, rock climbing and other alpine activities.”
Extreme Cool’s managing director, David Sterland, was responsible for co-ordinating and commissioning the first Xscape indoor ski slope development at Milton Keynes. Operations director Andrew Lockerbie is a former member of the national ski team and current chair of the British Association of Ski Instructors.
Photograph: operations director Andrew Lockerbie and chair, Peter Moore
