An 86-year-old man is hoping to bring a "much needed" snow-sport facility to Wirral.
Alan Jones, from Upton, has been an avid skier for decades and is now planning to submit a proposal to Wirral Council to develop a state-of-the-art facility as part of the Wirral Waters initiative. Wirral Waters is one of the biggest housing projects in the North West and is set to provide 13,500 homes and potentially create up to 20,000 jobs over the next 25 years.
Alan believes that the project offers the perfect opportunity to cater for the estimated 21,000 snow-sport lovers in Merseyside, branding the current nursery slope at the Oval Leisure Centre, in Bebington, as "out of date". He told the ECHO: “I came up with the proposal because there have been such poor facilities available in Wirral for 40 years now.
READ MORE: Expert issues warning over dog breed that is 'not a pet' being kept in homes
"I’ve been campaigning along with others to get something better without success. I’ve sent the draft to a lot of my skiing friends who have all responded really positively but I think this is now a question of trying to get a lot of people to back it, because numbers are what counts in these circumstances.”
The proposal, if accepted, would see the construction of a 150-200m slope, similar to the one which is currently housed at the Chill Factore in Manchester. Alan's ambitions to bring the facility to the region are fuelled by his passion for skiing, which he believes is a family sport for all ages.
He harbours hopes that the facility would encourage wider participation in snow-sport and provide a pathway for at least one youngster from Wirral to be selected for a British snow-sport squad by 2037. Alan said: “I’m now limited by age but I used to ski quite a lot. I’ve been all around the world skiing but I’d have to say that my favourite place is wherever the snow is good at the time because w e’re a very weather dependent sport.
"I got a little bit involved with competitive skiing as there’s an international masters racing scheme where you compete in five year age groups. It's for people over 30, which is when people usually start to retire from the sport, but it goes on until you drop basically. Last time I was involved there were people over 80 taking part."
A ground-breaking development in Copenhagen, where a futuristic ski slope has been built on top of a power plant, has led Alan to suggest that Wirral Council should consult with Wirral Waters developers Peel L&P about incorporating a similar structure into their plans.
Alan's proposal, which he plans to submit before the extended Wirral Local Plan deadline on Monday, July 25, highlights that Merseyside is the largest region outside of London “with no adequate snow-sport centre”. Oval Ski Club operates the current nursery slope in Bebington, which they describe as “small but perfectly formed”.
A spokesperson for the club said: “The slope at the Oval leisure centre is owned by the council but we look after it. It was one of the first ski slopes in the country nearly 50 years ago but I would agree with what the gentleman says about the need for an updated facility.”
Receive our three MyWirral newsletters and breaking news email alerts by signing up here.
