General Dryslope News

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Snowflex® to be part of £100m HD One tourist village for stadium.

Galpharm Stadium in Huddersfield today unveiled a major development expected to create more than 720 jobs and turn Huddersfield into a top tourist destination.

They have announced plans for a £100m-plus scheme to put the Galpharm at the hub of a major leisure and commercial complex designed to attract visitors to Huddersfield and help it compete with attractions in Leeds and Manchester.

The ambitious scheme will include building 9,500m2 Snowflex® ski slope facility, two nightclubs, a casino and bingo hall, a music venue, a pool hall and a 10-pin bowling alley. The new proposals also include 144 apartments, 21 restaurants, cafés and bars, a 150-bedroom hotel, a convenience store and sports shop, an estate and travel agency, office space and a multi-storey car park with 1,754 spaces.

The ski slope would be built against the slope of Kilner Bank, avoiding the need for a towering, free-standing structure.

Stadium managing director Ralph Rimmer said a planning application for the scheme would be submitted this month, in July 2008.

Work is planned to begin by the end of next year and is due to be carried out over 40 months in four phases.

Mr Rimmer stressed: "The stadium operates 12 months of the year and remains the heartbeat of the complex. The work will be done in phases, to avoid disrupting the work of the stadium."

The stadium and current attractions on site would all remain in operation throughout the work.

Mr Rimmer said the development scheme, named HD One, aimed to turn Huddersfield into a leisure destination for people living outside the town and surrounding districts.

"This is an attempt to bring in new and interesting things to the town. We have tried to be innovative and make it an attractive proposition for everyone. This scheme also goes some way to helping the local authority meet its targets for jobs and investment in the Kirklees Strategic Economic Zone, which centres on the Leeds Road corridor."

Mr Rimmer said the scheme had its origins four years ago when the Kirklees Stadium Development Company Limited (KSDL) began considering ways to upgrade the stadium and make greater use of the 54-acre site.

He said: "The stadium was ground-breaking when it was built in 1994 and it has added massively to the Kirklees area in general. The KSDL board are keen to do something ground-breaking once again."

He said the new development would complement existing attractions, including the Stadium Health and Fitness Centre and the neighbouring Odeon multiplex cinema.

The development was welcomed by Councillor Robert Light, leader of Kirklees Council. He said: "This is a great proposal which will further enhance the position of Huddersfield in the region and link the Leeds Road stadium complex to the town. The development will offer facilities not presently in Huddersfield and help to widen the appeal of the area beyond the traditional area.

"This will help develop… the stadium as a key leisure facility."

Terry Di Stasi, Briton’s Director of Business Development, added that Briton were delighted to be part of such prestigious development, particularly as it was on their doorstep and would be seen as a prominent showroom for Snowflex®.

The construction of the new Perma-snow Surface Extreme Boarding Park is now well under way at the Bracknell Ski & Snowboard Centre. Check out their photos of the slope under development.

Briton recognised as true innovators.

Innovative snowsports company Briton Engineering Developments is celebrating two more awards since winning the distinguished NatWest International Business of the Year award in November last year.

At Yorkshire Forward’s prestigious “Innovator 08” awards held at Leeds City Hall on 5 March 2008, the company scooped the top award of “Global Innovator" which recognises technical and commercial excellence on the worldwide stage.

Jim Farmery, Head of Innovation at Yorkshire Forward explains; “The winners of the Innovators/08 are those people and companies who have taken a different approach to business and incorporated new ideas and new ways of working…….and demonstrate their commitment to being a leader in their field”.

Snow sport experts Briton Engineering based in Holmfirth won the award for Global Innovation, supported by UK Trade and Industry, for re-engineering their snow sports surfacing product specifically for international roll-out, taking into account changing international weather, and making it scaleable to suit local markets.

Brian Thomas, Managing Director said; “We are delighted to win this award in recognition of our achievements, but we are on the first step of a journey – we still have a long way to go. From our experience, success is all about looking at new markets; otherwise you won’t do very well at all.”

Former politician Michael Portillo hosted the evening and presented the winners with their awards.

On the same evening but at another award ceremony at Church House Conference Centre, Westminster, London, Briton were again recognised by Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, an organisation funded by the Government's Technology Strategy Board, which named it as the Best Partnership for North East England for 2008.

Dr John Sweeney, an expert in polymer mechanics, was one of the team who set up tests to find an improved shock-pad foam for Briton’s Snowflex® surface system.
He said: "As a result, a much improved material was identified, which is now used in all new installations ………The new, low-maintenance technology in the system brings many benefits, including increasing the range of potential sites across the globe."

Nice article about learning to snowboard on Halifax's SnowFlex slope.

Chatham dryslope is pleased to announce it has a new box. It’s been something they’ve wanted to build for ages, but have been too lazy (so they say). So finally Dave Jackson (Ollie Jackson’s Dad) built them one.

A nice shinny new C-Box. It’ll be out along side an assortment of other rails every week at Chatham on Thursday nights 7 – 10pm.

If you would like a say on the slope set ups at Chatham every week then join the Chatham Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7641610851

Alex Spence


Woodsy

Students at Liberty University, a Baptist Fundamental institution founded in 1971 by the televangelist Jerry Falwell, are not allowed to watch R-rated movies, drink alcohol or dance. But soon their campus in Lynchburg, Virginia will feature year-round Snowflex skiing and snowboarding slopes.

The first phase of the project, scheduled to be in place by next summer, includes a $500,000 ski lift and a Snowflex slope. At a total cost of $3 million, it is expected to be the most expensive part of the plan. Over the next few years, an additional $2 million will be spent on other features including downhill bike trails.

Financing through a local bank will pay for the project, but that admission fees charged to the public would eventually pay for the park’s construction costs.

The University hopes the new facilities will help in the effort to boost current student numbers from 10,400 students to a target 25,000 students.

The new slope at Bellahouston is officially opened for business.

The slope is split into two distinct lines, with a permanent rookie slide box and two interchangeable rail points on the left hand line.

On the right there is a kicker and table top, with a set of rail points a couple of feet beyond the kicker. Both lines merge at the bottom allowing access to the quarter pipe.

All of the old rails have had a new topsheet of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) added to them, along with points to anchor them on the new slope. Riders will have the choice of 5m box, 2m slide box, rainbow rail, up-flat rail and 3m double coping street rail, which will be regularly changed by the centre.

Non members with their own gear can ride the slope for unlimited time for £7 for adults and £6 juniors. SCUK members receive a 10% discount to use the slope - just show them your membership card.

The centre is normally closed to non-members during the day, however the new slope will remain open to non members during the Christmas holidays. All users need to be up to a minimum standard level 4 snowboarders or advanced skiers to use this slope without supervision and all slope users need their own helmet.

The best advice is, if you're unsure about anything phone and check on 0141 427 4991.

Glasgow Ski & Snowboard Centre Club
16 Dumbreck Road
Bellahouston Park
Glasgow
G41 5BW

T: 0141 427 4991
E: info@ski-glasgow.org

Normal opening hours
Mon - Thur: 9.30am to 11pm
Fri: 9.30am to 6pm
Sat: 9.30am to 5pm
Sun: 9.30am to 9pm

Festive opening hours
22nd, 23rd, 24th, 29th, 30th, 31st Dec : 9.30am - 5pm 26th, 27th, 28th, 2nd, 3rd, 4th : 9.30 am - 10 pm

Sat 5th Jan returns to normal opening hours.

[Thanks to Steve McKenna [SCUK:steviemc] for words and pictures]

Kicker


Slide Box


Rookie Slide Box


Up Flat Rail

Briton Engineering Developments
celebrate worldwide success!

Briton Engineering Developments is celebrating its success in winning the much sought after "NatWest Bank International Business of the Year" award.

Key to Briton’s success has been the company’s expansion into European and US markets and the generation of major enquiries in regions that traditionally do not have a snowsports market.

Having recently supplied its award winning Snowflex® system to Olympic training facilities in Park City, Utah and Lake Placid, New York, Briton have gone on to design and refurbish the prestigious Loisinord Stadt de Glise in Nœux Les Mines, France and are currently constructing a new Snowflex® Urban Snowsports Centre in Valladolid, Spain. Other major international projects that Briton is involved in include the prestigious Bearfire Resort in Dallas, Texas and Liberty University in Virginia.

Terry Di Stasi, Briton’s Director of Business Development, attended the ceremony, held at the Galpharm Stadium in Huddersfield and collected the award on behalf of the company. Presented in front of 350 local business and community leaders, the title is yet another tribute for Briton, who is regularly lauded in the UK snowsports and national press for their market leading surface system.

Di Stasi added: “I’m surprised at receiving this award in the face of stiff competition from some excellent companies, but I’m also very, very proud. We have moved on a long way since we started making portable ski lifts for artificial slopes in 1979 and now we have work all over the world. I can’t begin to describe how it feels to know that our efforts have been rewarded".

Briton currently has serious enquiries at various stages of development from the USA, Republic of South Africa, Georgia, Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, Spain and New Zealand.

For the last seven weeks or so there have been various murmurings going on behind the scenes at Bellahouston. To put it bluntly, their tow track subsided the day before the tow was due to be installed.

Since then, there have been various meetings between Bella and the Contractor. The Contractor has accepted all responsibility and taken it back from the centre.

Things are back on track (sic) now and Bella don't mind making it public knowledge, especially as they're not to blame.

Check out the full spiel and some photos on our be-kilted bretheren at I Love Legion.

Briton Engineering Developments Limited is pleased to announce two major events over the coming weeks. Firstly the final of the 2007 Westbeach Snowflex freestyle championships takes place at the 11,500 sq. metres Stadt de Glise in Noeux-les-Mines, France. This promises to be an exceptional event with around 100 competitors expected from all over Europe. For more details, visit the website.

The following weekend is the annual Metro ski and snowboard show at London's Olympia in Kensington. As with 2006, Snowflex will once again be installed on both the skills slope and Acid drop half pipe. However this year will have a mini rail park too. Beginners will be able to carve or plough their first turns on the world's most advanced synthetic snowsports surface and give themselves a taste for the winter ahead. They will also be treated to the technical prowess of skiers and boarders at the other end of the skill spectrum - get a sample of last year's action here.

Sheffield Ski Village is now recruiting for our busy winter season and are looking for staff to assist in a variety of roles, both seasonal and part time positions are available. All information is online at www.sheffieldskivillage.co.uk/content/jobs/current.htm

The main slope at Bellahouston is now complete, with all the Snowflex and sprinklers in place.

Commencing on Monday 20th August, they're going to be fitting the tow and laying Dendix on the tow track and top/bottom areas of the slope. Management reckon this will take around two weeks to complete, so fingers crossed, the slope will be opened round about the first week in September.

There are a few photos, here on Legion from Steve McKenna.

Here's some shots from Legion's Stevie McKenna from the almost-finished refurbishment at Bellahouston.

Briton Engineering Developments Limited is pleased to announce completion of their latest project at Ski Rossendale, Lancashire.

In less than three weeks, the Briton Engineering Developments team have fitted out long-standing clients Ski Rossendale with a Snowflex quarter-pipe. Retro-fitting the feature to the slope was no easy task, but now freestyle skiers and snowboarders alike can take flight without fear of the "death-mesh".

The freestyle capabilities of a ski slope are becoming increasingly important in attracting new business as well as ensuring the return of existing customers and Briton has over 25 years experience in design and development of snowsports facilities.

If you are looking to develop a snowsports facility or add to your existing offering Briton can design specifically for your needs. Please contact us for further information.

Check out the latest shots of the new surface going down and the new rails and boxes at Bellahouston, Scotland.

Just like back in the good ol' days of the Kendal snowboard scene, non-members can now ride the first ever Snowflex slope.

For the past few years, only fully paid up members could use the slope due to insurance reasons out of Kendal Ski Club's control. However, things have now gone back to the way they should be, allowing anyone - member or not - to snowboard (or ski) on the dark green Lake District dry slope.

The only thing non-members have to do to ride at Kendal now is book their session one week in advance, give their name and address, and pay just £5 for insurance. To do this, an online payment system will be set up soon. The normal rental of gear and use of the slope is at an extra cost (the same as it is for members). Please see the website for snowboarding and skiing prices and times.

Kendal slope's features include one big kicker, a smaller cheese-wedge kicker, a quarter/bowl/spine, a 3-metre rail, a gas pipe, straight runs, camel humps, moguls and banks - all operated by 3 lifts, on lovely Snowflex material. New rails and features are on their way, due to a cash injection from the club, and will so far include a 5-metre box and a 6-metre C-rail.

The slope re-opens in October as normal. The second K-Jam snowboard competition will be held on 18 November, promising to be a sick event!

Get onto www.kendalski.co.uk

It’s been a while since we built any new toys, but we got bored. So we now have a shiny new wall ride so we can get an extra hit in every run now as it sits on the counter slope.

The larger rails are still waiting to be converted to perma-snow, we are still waiting on securing funds for the alterations needed. However, the 40 foot animal rail, and parts of the roller coaster rail are still ridable, as well as all the smaller rails, and all of our ramps.

We will have everything done by the British Snow Tour competitions in September though.

Ramps and rails are available at Chatham on Thursdays, from 7 – 10pm. Check out what Chatham slope has to offer in Stomp-it.co.uk’s 2006-07 move Slappy Hour at www.slappyhour.co.uk

[From Alex Spence (SCUK:HandD)]

A report from ThisIsHampshire.net reads:

THIEVES have stolen a charity collection box from the front counter of a ski centre in Southampton.

Bosses at the Alpine Centre in Bassett think it was taken right under their noses during opening hours on Wednesday.

A youth handed back the empty box later that evening saying he found it outside.

advertisementThe box for Naomi House, the children's hospice in Sutton Scotney, was thought to contain up to £50.

Centre assistant manager, Jo Davis, said: "We've had a lot of problems with people breaking in during the evening and drinking on the slope.

"We live with that but taking a charity box really niggles me. It wasn't a lot of money but how low can you go?"

The theft comes just a month after vandals went on a wrecking spree at the centre. Equipment paid for by voluntary donations was thrown onto the slope and on to rooftops.

A ladies' toilet door was also damaged as well as ski poles at the club, which is run by volunteers.

Check out the shots of Bellahouston from the website based at the neighbouring Bearsden slope, I Love Legion.

Avon Ski and Action Centre are hosting an ASBI Snowboard instructors course. It's a 5 day course running between 25th August and 2nd September and costs £350.

Pre-course training will be offered (dates & cost to be confirmed). For more information phone 01934 852335 or email info@avonski.co.uk

Neil informs us that the Euroboys are back at Gosling dryslope at Wycombe with the UK's biggest airbag and the UK's biggest kicker.

Check out www.euroboysairbag.com for info, plus photos from the sessions at The brits in Laax amd the Transalpine XS Festival in Val Thorens.

The building work is well underway for the new Snowflex slope at Glasgow Ski & Snowboard Centre, Bellahouston Park, Glasgow. They are looking to recruit qualified ski & snowboard instructors.

Please send applications to:
info@ski-glasgow.co.uk

Please put "INSTRUCTOR APPLICATION" and either ski or board in the subject heading.

Alternatively, you can use the old postal service:

FAO: Ski School Manager
Glasgow Ski & Snowboard Centre
16 Dumbreck Road
Glasgow
G41 5BW

An outdoor pursuits centre in Churchill is submitting plans which could allow quad biking and clay pigeon shooting to take place at the venue.

Previously, Avon Ski and Action Centre had been denied a certificate from North Somerset Council which would have made it exempt from planning permission to run the activities.

Councillors voted against giving it the certificate at a planning meeting in February, because it could not prove they had been taking place for more than 10 years.

Concerns were also raised by locals about the noise created by the centre.

Since then, the centre's planning agent, Nigel Salmon, has conducted a noise survey and commissioned an ecology report to assess the impact of outdoor sports activities on the site.

He said: "The new application will concern quad biking, clay pigeon shooting, 4x4 driving, and some non-motorised activities such as grass sledging and BMX riding.

"Our submission to the council will include controls on the intensity of these activities, the locations where they occur and the hours in which they take place.

"This will strike a balance for residents who live in the locality."

However, some residents are still not keen on the plans.

Mike Simeone, who lives next door to the ski centre, said: "We do not want the Mendips made into a theme park."

The issue will now go before council planning officials.

[From The Weston Mercury]

Aberdeen Snowsports Centre is the new name of the new SnowFlex slope at Garthdee in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Formerly run by the council who then decided they no longer wanted to operate it, David Jacobs now manages the slope as head of a trust set up to operate the facility since April 1st 2007. David has previously worked at SnowDome and Xscape and leads a great team consisting of staff who have huge amounts of snowsports experience and are passionate about it.

Their aim is to make the already great SnowFlex facility really go off and be right up there with some of the best facilities in the country. The local talent is amazing, with some really high standards of riding. All the locals and shops are behind the slope.

They will have a regular Freeride night every Friday, which will include informal coaching.

We have Granite Reef sponsoring our Freeride night once a month. The first one is May 25th.

They have a junior Snowboard/Ski club where kids can improve their riding skills and learn tricks under the supervision of an instructor. There are ladies only sessions with instructors for ski/snowboard. On top of that there's an Over the Club for those over 50 for ski/snowboard Adult Sessions - coaching on improving riding skills.

Aberdeen also runs a snowboard in a weekend courses, learn to ski in a day, junior snowboarding/skiing/tubing birthday parties, snow Tubing sessions, plus after school clubs with coaching for kids improving riding skills.

Cornwall’s Ski and Snowboard Centre has revealed its final plans and there’s a surprise new element – green snow!

Following extensive local consultations and site visit, farmers Steve and Mark Bucknell decided that they needed to take on board concerns about visual impact and take a radical new approach to their plans, withdrawing their original proposals as a result.

Mark explains “the feedback process taught us a lot; the consistent theme from those who raised concerns, understandably mainly local people, was the visual impact of our operation. We went back to the drawing board to see how we could mitigate the two issues raised; white ski slopes and after dark lighting”.

So instead the SnowFlex, the material which forms the unique ski slopes, will be commissioned in green. There is already one park which is using the green snowflex, in the Lake District’s National Park at Kendall, where it has proved successful in merging into the local landscape, as well as proving popular with users.

An independent Lighting Impact survey has also been commissioned which stipulates the use of specialist high pressure sodium lights. These ensure there is no light spill outside the boundary of the Park, which reduces the impact for immediate neighbours. In addition the lights used will be on tall, slim pillars which themselves merge into the landscape.

Complementing the Lighting Impact report a Visual and Landscape Impact Assessment was also carried out and many aspects of the original layout have been changed as a result, with significant planting of trees now included in the plans. The slope has also been shortened to 160m.

With these changes made the Bucknell’s have now submitted their planning application to Carrick District Council for consideration, and hope to have a response in time to commission work for an Easter opening next year.

Mark Bucknell adds “We have taken a much more measured approach to this planning application; we remain as enthusiastic as ever about the project, but have commissioned surveys and reports to analyse carefully whether our project has a realistic chance of success. The findings have been vital in framing our final planning application.”

An independent survey on the Travel and Sustainability of the Cornwall Ski and Snowboard Centre has found that there are many sound reasons why Newquay is a top choice for the Park, including the good fit with the surfing culture of the area, ease of access by air, road, bus and rail, and the prevalence of appropriate accommodation.

The year round nature of the Cornwall Ski and Snowboard Centre fits well into the local economy and a Sequential Assessment of other locations in the area found that the site at Trevarthian Farm, Kestle Mill was the best site. The site will be developed as a regional centre for Newquay and the rest of Cornwall and the scale of the project is as recommended to the English Ski council by the UK Skiers Resource; it is this approach which gives confidence that the Cornwall Ski and Snowboard Centre will be an economically viable and sustainable development and wholly in context for the market.

There have been no amendments made to the original plans with regard to traffic management, as the proposals already had the approval of County Highways who advised the Bucknells on their recommended traffic mitigation measures.

The £3.5 million investment in Cornwall Ski and Snowboard Centre will support 40 jobs during the construction phase from four Cornish companies, with a further 17 indirect jobs benefiting from the investment. Once open the Park will support nearly 30 full time jobs, with a further six part time opportunities.

Support for the Cornwall Ski and Snowboard Centre remains strong; including experts from Snow Sports England and the Chief Executive of South West Tourism, who are convinced of its potential. If you would like to add your support to this application please forward your comments to the planning officer nbrabyn@carrick.gov.uk

Keep up to date on progress on www.cornwallski.com

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