Wycombe Snowdome development under threat (From This Is Local London)

Wycombe Snowdome development under threat

4:39pm Tuesday 26th May 2009 in News By Alex Hayes

DEVELOPERS of a multimillion pound ski centre say they are considering pulling the scheme out of High Wycombe because of council “bureaucracy”.

Plans to put a new real snow indoor ski centre and ice rink, which would cost more than £10m, on the site of the former Wycombe Summit slopes were turned down by councillors in April.

Now Martin Smith, the managing director of Snowdome UK, said the company is now considering whether or not to carry on with the development.

He said: “We’re living through a time when billions in public money is being pumped into developments, but this one is funded entirely by private backers.

“We are currently considering our future. Part of those considerations is do we walk away? Have we lost the appetite for it, or do we try again?

“There are a lot of places which would welcome a development like this. I would draw people in from miles around and bring them to High Wycombe.

“It’s my reading of the situation that the community at large are still very much in favour of this facility.”

He added more than 90 jobs would be created at management, technical and entry levels if the facility were built.

In December 2007 Wycombe District Council’s planning committee gave provisional permission for the 110m long slope, which would sit above the old dry ski slope on the site in Abbey Barn Lane.

The original chalet building was destroyed by a massive fire in 2005, which started in the kitchen of the wooden structure.

However, members of the planning committee rejected amended plans which included increasing the width of the building covering the slope, and adding new party rooms above the ice rink.

Mr Smith said one condition councillors had insisted on was the company putting £150,000 into an account which could be accessed if the facility went bust, to reforest the area.

“They seem totally tied up in the bureaucracy of the planning system. This development has more than £10m of investment to bring about this facility,” he added.

“We put the money into the account, but the legal officers recommended refusal because they were not satisfied with the legal form of this bond we put down.

“If they are not happy they should have told us, as we could have changed it until they are.”

Councillors also raised concerns over the visual impact of the new building, and over the preservation of the forest around it.

“We’re building over one of the existing ski slopes. There was already a dry ski slope there which is highly visible from the other side of the valley.

“What we would put there is a cedar roof, which would be much better.

“We also want to run more outdoor pursuits like orienteering, and use the 96 acres of woods around for educational purposes.”

Paul Wells, spokesman for Wycombe District Council, said: “We are committed to promoting the leisure and employment facilities in the district. However, we are unable to comment on specific applications.”

THE proposed development comes after the original wooden building at the dry ski slope burned to the ground four years ago.

It is believed to have started when a kitchen fire in the chalet at Abbey Barn Lane spread to the roof.

About 50 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze, but they had huge problems in their efforts to extinguish the flames.

The building continued to smoulder because the wooden hut had collapsed and fire crews could not gain direct access to it.

And firefighters faced further problems because there were no water hydrants near the isolated site in High Wycombe.

They were forced to close off Abbey Barn Lane while they used a hydrant at the bottom of the hill in Abbey Barn Road.

The dry ski slopes themselves were not damaged by the fire, which broke out on November 22 2005.

Plans for an indoor real-snow facility had been on the cards at the time however.

Martin Smith, managing director of SD Leisure Ltd, told the Bucks Free Press at the time: “We acquired the Summit around October 2003 and our acquisition was principally to be able to explore the opportunity of creating an indoor snow centre.

“We now have to move at a pace. That is born out of necessity because we have no facility.”