Row over cash given to shelved Middlesbrough snow centre

Middlesbrough Council scrapped plans for Subzero in February 2021 saying it was looking at alternative uses for the land.

A row has broken out over the repayment of £250k given to the shelved snow centre project in Middlesbrough.

The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) said it had started recovering the money, given in 2018 towards the £30m Middlehaven Dock centre.

The project collapsed after the town's mayor withdrew support in 2020.

Rachael Howson, Subzero director, said the TVCA had not contacted her about returning the cash, which she said did not need to be repaid.

She said she was confident she did not have to pay anything back of what she said had been a £180,000 grant and £70,000 loan.

She added: "I have never heard from the combined authority even though they are saying they are in the process of recovering it, there is no process going on. I have not heard from them.

"I have never heard from the combined authority to recoup that money. I am not declining to pay the money, it's the way the agreement was written."

'Seeking recovery'

The TVCA would not confirm whether it was taking legal action to get the money back.

However, a TVCA spokesperson said: "The combined authority has not had its loan repaid and is in the process of seeking recovery of the monies.

"As a result, we will not be commenting further."

Plans for an indoor ski centre were first mooted in 2014 but the project fell through three years later when the potential operator at the time ceased involvement.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the TVCA had not confirmed how much of the £250,000 it was attempting to recoup and would not say how much was a loan and how much was a grant.

In 2019, it said that it was entirely a loan but in February 2020 it said that it had given "both a loan and grant to Cool Runnings NE Ltd", the company behind the shelved development, which was renamed Subzero.

Detailed plans for the site were approved by Middlesbrough Council in March 2020, which also included space for a bowling alley, trampolining centre and climbing wall underneath the ski slope.

Alternative land uses

However, in January 2021 Middlesbrough's mayor Andy Preston said public money would not be "gambled" on the proposed £30m snow centre.

Previously Subzero said the mayor's comments "did not reflect their understanding at all" but by February 2021 the scheme was abandoned and Middlesbrough Council said it was looking for alternative uses for the land.

In the aftermath of the project's failure, Ms Howson said £1.2m had been spent on the scheme and she was taking legal action against Middlesbrough Council.

A spokesperson for Subzero accused the council of making a politically-motivated decision and said people at Middlesbrough Council had "simply changed their minds".

However, the council's chief executive Tony Parkinson said the decision was not political and it was because Subzero did not deliver what it said it would.

He also said the council had not been willing to take on the risk of the project, which could have seen it lose millions of pounds if the snow centre went bust.