 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Over the last 2-3 years Ive heard indoor slopes being banded around for Bristol, Swindon, Cardiff, Merthyr & one outdoor slope in some leisure adventure activity 4 zone resort being built in the Afan Valleys.
Wonder which actually gets of the ground first.
Split into five zones: Alpine, Forest, Trails, Xtreme and Zen, the resort will combine a unique mix of high-octane activities and relaxation all in one stunning location and we are excited to be working on such a ground-breaking project. The all-weather, all-year-round resort will be home to three outdoor ski slopes, forest-based zip wires and tree-top adventures, bike trails, an Xtreme sport centre, a state-of-the-art aqua park, indoor trampolining, relaxing spas and a central plaza featuring a wealth of bars and restaurants where guests and visitors can meet and socialise at the end of the day.
CEO of Snowsport Cymru Wales, Robin Kellen said: “We are delighted to hear of the development of what promises to be one of the most thrilling adventure resorts in the UK. NPD have brought together some of the world’s leading activity and leisure specialists to bring the resort to life and we are thrilled to be advising on such an ambitious and ground-breaking project. Our role will be to assist in the development of the artificial ski slopes and ensure guests visiting the resort’s Alpine Zone are giving the most authentic and enjoyable experience imaginable.
“The focus at Snowsport Cymru Wales is to develop and increase participation in snowsports, and help to identify and nurture the snowsport stars of tomorrow. Afan Valley Adventure Resort will provide a unique opportunity to attract a new generation of snow sport enthusiasts and we are very excited about the wealth of invigorating and challenging snow sports activities that will be available. The resort’s Alpine Zone is set to become a must-visit destination for those looking to enjoy all the thrills of a traditional ski resort - but without having to leave the country."
Boasting one of the most complete outdoor slopes in Britain, Afan Valley Adventure Resort plans three exhilarating runs, which will be open 365-days a year, whatever the weather. Incorporating the dramatic terrain of the Afan Valley, the runs will effortlessly blend into the stunning landscape to provide an adrenaline-pumping black run, down steep, breath-taking drops; a testing red run; and a gentler blue run, where skiers will be able to meander their way down a picturesque tree-lined course. With covered walkways and strategically designed runs to ensure maximum authenticity, Afan Valley Adventure Resort will provide an unmissable experience for novices and seasoned skiers alike.
Complete with drag and chair lifts, time gates, slalom courses, tubing, moguls, ski-school, kindergarten and toboggan runs for youngsters, the resort will also boast a stunning sky lounge at its summit, allowing guests to sit, relax and fully immerse themselves in the spectacular surroundings. With a traditional Nordic feel to all activities, the Alpine Zone will also be home to a well-equipped indoor centre which will include a children’s soft play area, ski simulators and zorbing – with a suite of steam rooms for those who want to unwind and get away from it all. Outside, continental markets, fire pits and an impressive array of authentic alpine bars and restaurants will add to the ambience and give guests that delightful après-ski feeling of being in the Alps.
Talking about the partnership with Snowsport Cymru Wales, Gavin Woodhouse chairman of Yorkshire-based Northern Powerhouse Developments said: “The inclusion of Snowsport Cymru Wales expertise is another huge boost to the resort and will undoubtedly help us deliver the best possible skiing and snowboarding experience. The UK holiday market is ready for a new leisure concept and by bringing together the most experienced and specialist international partners we are looking forward to creating a resort that will serve up a unique mix of exhilarating and unforgettable activities.”
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Do indoor ski centres make money or are they a loss leader attracting customers to the shops ?
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They are a sweetener to dazzle the local council into allowing them to sling up 40 acres of shopping centre and 1500 houses on a floodplane. The revenue streams get built first then they'll conveniently run out of budget before the shiny baubles get built...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Peter S wrote: |
| Do indoor ski centres make money or are they a loss leader attracting customers to the shops ? |
The Snow Centre at Hemel makes money, and clearly isn't made viable by the rent it gets from the one shop on site, Snow&Rock, or the profit from its own food and drinks outlet.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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SevenCapital Given Green Light For £270 Million Swindon Leisure Centre
Plans to build a 500,000 sq ft regional leisure scheme in Swindon have been given the go ahead, just four months after SevenCapital took the reins on the scheme.
Outline planning for the first phase of the £270 million development, which will regenerate the North Star site, and include updates to the town’s existing Oasis Leisure Centre, has been recommended for approval by the Council’s Planning Committee.
The development is set to be one of the largest of its kind in the UK.
Included in proposals are a 2000 square metre snow and ski centre, along with a 130-bed hotel, a 14-screen IMAX cinema with the largest IMAX screen in the UK, a new Hollywood Bowl and a number of other leisure attractions including trampolining and climbing. This will all be supported with a large number of new restaurant and retail units.
John Watkins, Director at SevenCapital, said: “This is the first and most important step to delivering this much-anticipated scheme for Swindon. Now we have outline planning granted, the work really begins on getting all the detail filled in ready to submit detailed planning in the New Year, after which we can get to work on making this project a reality.”
Cllr Garry Perkins, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration said "A lot of work has gone in to get to this point and I am delighted the Planning Committee has given its blessing to the outline plans. I know SevenCapital is eager to get on and deliver this fantastic scheme for Swindon, which will really put us on the map and provide a huge boost to our already booming local economy."
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Great news for the W and SW areas.
It was mentioned there was a lot of discussion in the meeting around traffic and it will be interesting to see how they address the issue. If you know that area (I live just north of Swindon) then it’s quite centrally located and already has pretty large traffic challenges plus a ‘designer outlet’ village close by that attracts a lot of people. Swindon is an easy place to get to (M4, M5, mainline train) so fingers crossed they come up with a proposal that doesn’t delay things.
Purely selfishly.. it will mean no more 2 hour treks to MK or HH 
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| Peter S wrote: |
| Do indoor ski centres make money or are they a loss leader attracting customers to the shops ? |
The Snow Centre at Hemel makes money, and clearly isn't made viable by the rent it gets from the one shop on site, Snow&Rock, or the profit from its own food and drinks outlet. |
But did the ski centre already own the site from when it was a dry slope? Big difference in making a profit from your own asset vs paying for someone else's and making a profit on your ops on top.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Rusco, I use to live in Highworth in 1986 so vaguely remember the area, is this planned to be at the Oasis leisure centre? I recall that area was quite built up and cant think of there being a huge open area to build this?
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| boredsurfin wrote: |
@Rusco, I use to live in Highworth in 1986 so vaguely remember the area, is this planned to be at the Oasis leisure centre? I recall that area was quite built up and cant think of there being a huge open area to build this?
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Yes that’s the area. There is a bit of space at the front where they’ve demololoshed some old buildings which is maybe what they’ll use. There’s not a lot of obvious space to fill there as you say!.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Rusco, Thanks I was wondering..some of the plans sound like quite large buildings..
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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As indoor snow facilities go 2000m2 is hardly generous.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Has anyone thought of simply buying one of these and making snow in a humidity controlled environment?
https://www.technoalpin.com/en/snow-making/snowfactory.html
No need to lower the air temperature below freezing (the really expensive bit)......but I guess finding a tilted building 150m long is also a bit problematic !
Underground in a north wales slate mine might work ! Humidity controllable, well insulated, plenty of water available, renewable energy to hand .... 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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170m...meh 
Go big or go home!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I would certainly visit a 170m length slope. Checking the Hemel one and that is 160m and it took us longer to drive there than it will to drive to Swindon.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I drove from Taunton up to Tamworth a number of times for a slide. Swindon would be a boon for me when I visit the family.
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Needs to be minimum 250m (genuine) to get your carve on. It'd be so blimmin marvellous, I might even be tempted to drive up to Swindon. But I doubt muppet accountants would allow it.
I'm liking @Peter S's underground idea. Might sort some red/black runs in there. 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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A 170m slope is cr*p and tiny and an utter waste of time.
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| Whitegold wrote: |
| A 170m slope is cr*p and tiny and an utter waste of time. |
You do talk some crap.
Hemel Snowcentre is 160m and is very popular.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hmmm. Much as I'd love to see this, I still think it is unlikely. I hope that their plans aren't too reliant on a trampoline place, there are two in Swindon already and they aren't the novelty that they once were - fairly quiet places now.
[Just call me Eeyore]
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Mike Pow wrote: |
Cardiff's supposed to be getting a dome down the Bay.
If that's the case, then that doesn't make Swindon more viable. |
Wasn't that based on the premise that Cardiff won the super casino contract (which it didn't)? Idea being that it would help to fund the sports village development further.
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You know it makes sense.
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| tomj wrote: |
| Hmmm. Much as I'd love to see this, I still think it is unlikely. |
As far as I know the funding is in place, the planning application has been approved, the operators of the snow centre have been identified and the opening date is around December 2020. I think this will be the next indoor slope to open in the UK.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Fingers crossed.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Think its a good catchment area as well.
Big catchment area within an hour or so of driving.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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+1 for fingers crossed.
would be great for me and my family, Swindon is only 45mins away from us, so could easily make more frequent trips. although we really like Hemel we only go when it coincides with a visit to the outlaws.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Timberwolf, yes, about time you did! We’re very likely to run our coaching at the new slope, so hope to see you there.
@no_snow_in_swindon,
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Planning now granted.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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https://www.swindon24.co.uk/news/yes-270m-north-star-development-is-going-ahead/
YES! £270m North Star development is going ahead
Swindon will have to get used to there being snow all year round after one of the town’s most exciting regeneration schemes was given the go ahead by councillors this evening (27 Nov).
The £270m North Star Village development, which features one of the UK’s largest ski and snow centres including two indoor real-snow ski slopes, cleared the final planning hurdle when it was approved by Swindon Borough Council’s Planning Committee.
This means that as well as the 75m and 170m ski slopes, the town will soon be able to boast a huge leisure complex complete with a 13-screen cinema containing the largest IMAX screen in Europe, a 19-lane bowling alley, 27,000 sq ft of trampolining as well as an array of restaurants, cafes and shops.
The North Star project will be delivered by SevenCapital and demonstrates the Council’s success in working with the private sector. The scheme will create hundreds of jobs and SevenCapital anticipate the development will attract an annual footfall of 3.3 million, via a projected catchment area within two hours’ drive-time – reaching as far as Stoke-on-Trent, Swansea, Exeter, Brighton and Cambridge.
SevenCapital has cemented an agreement with a major funder and secured 50 per cent pre-lets ahead of planning consent. Confirmed operators for the North Star Village include The Snow Centre, Empire Cinemas, Hollywood Bowl and top mountain sports retailer Ellis Brigham.
Councillor Dale Heenan, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for the Town Centre, said: “This ski facility has been a vision for Swindon for over six years, but we’ve now passed the final gate and are closing in on the finish line. There has been a tremendous amount of work going on behind the scenes and we are now in a strong position to move forward.
“Last week, SevenCapital announced it had secured the money needed to build the North Star leisure complex and the Planning Committee was the final hurdle.
“This development will put Swindon firmly on the map of top leisure destinations and is a shining example of the ambition we have to make the town a great place to live, work and play.
“Every resident will be praying that Seven Capital start construction as soon as possible because the pressure is now really on to deliver visible progress.”
Improving the town’s infrastructure to support a growing economy is one of the Council’s top priorities, and North Star is a big game changer for the town.
John Watkins, Director at SevenCapital, said: “We’re thrilled with the decision to grant full planning approval for the North Star Village. Since taking on the project in July 2017, the team has worked tirelessly to deliver on our promises to submit plans for an exciting regional leisure and retail destination that Swindon and the wider UK will significantly benefit from.
“We have delivered on all our planning promises and are now looking forward to getting on site and bringing those plans to life.”
Work is expected to begin on the scheme in just a few months’ time. For more information on North Star Village visit: www.northstarvillage.co.uk
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FAQ
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