New £30m North East ski centre granted full planning permission

Planning permission has been granted for a new North East skiing facility worth £30m.

The Subzero Snow centre, which will be in Middlesbrough, has received full planning permission from Middlesbrough County Council.

The indoor ski facility, supported by the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority, will be built at Middlehaven Dock on a seven-acre brownfield site next to the Grade II listed clock tower, Temenos and Middlesbrough College.

Subzero, the company behind the plans, predicts that the facility will attract more than two million visitors to the town each year.

A spokesperson for Subzero commented: “This is a ray of light in difficult times. Now we can make progress behind the scenes so we don’t lose valuable time.

“We are pressing ahead and we hope that the agreement of planning permission shows the high level of commitment we have towards this project - more than £750k has already been spent getting it to this stage.

“The necessary land deals, financial backers, prospective operators and partners are on board and it would be great to see the public get behind us too in these tough times.

“The design of the building, which has now been approved, looks amazing and fits well into the historic site,

“It will add to the list of ambitious and innovative schemes in the pipeline for Middlesbrough.

“Subzero will make a huge contribution to the economy of the Tees Valley bringing jobs and shining a positive light on the region. We anticipate the centre will open in 2022.”

Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, added: “While we rightly focus all our efforts and resources on fighting the coronavirus, this news gives us all something to look forward to.

“The new snow centre will be massive for Middlesbrough, helping the regeneration of Middlehaven and creating jobs while giving even more people an excuse to visit, have fun and spend money in the town.”

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

“Life will return to normal in the coming months, and we’ll need to throw our weight behind developments like this that will help Middlehaven fulfil its true potential.”

The application was submitted under the guidance of Darlington-based planning consultancy, Prism Planning, which helped with its preparation and submission.

The firm’s planning director Rod Hepplewhite commented: “The snow and leisure centre development will prove to be a major asset not only for Middlesbrough and the Tees Valley but also for the wider North East and North Yorkshire.”

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