Middlesbrough £30m snow centre plan approved

It is hoped more than two million people annually will use the centre

A £30m indoor ski centre on Teesside has been given the go-ahead.

Detailed proposals for the project, at Middlesbrough's Middlehaven Dock, have been approved by the borough council and include a 540ft (165m) ski slope along with shops, restaurants and cafes.

The firm behind the scheme, Subzero, forecasts it will bring more than two million visitors to the town each year.

The facility is expected to open in 2022.

Subzero said the necessary land deals, financial backers, operators and partners were now in place.

It will be built on a seven-acre brownfield site next to the Grade II-listed clock tower and Middlesbrough College.

"Substantial" complementary sporting facilities are also part of the plans with documents showing spaces for a "ten pin bowling tenant" and a "trampolining and climbing attraction" underneath the ski slope. 

Subzero hailed the approval as "a ray of light in difficult times", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"Now we can make progress behind the scenes so we don't lose valuable time," a spokeswoman added.

The facility will be located next to the Grade II-listed clock tower

Detailed blueprints were lodged with the council in December.

Plans for a snow centre were first suggested in 2014, with an outline planning application approved in March 2017.

Last year, it was revealed during a call-in meeting that Middlesbrough Council had agreed to buy the land at Middlehaven from government body Homes England for £840,000. 

The aim was for the council to sell the land on to the developer. 

Welcoming its approval, Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston said: "This is a key milestone in a project that has huge potential for one of the most important regeneration sites in the whole region."