Edinburgh's Snowsports centre ski centre on slippery slope to oblivion in cutback plans

Midlothian Council is said to be "looking at the options" for the , which is running at a loss of 500,000 a year.

The council, which is faced with making 18 million of cuts, insists it is "premature" to talk of a sell-off or closure, but sources at the centre say they have been told it could close this year.

It is understood that council officers will report to the full council with a list of all the possible options for the centre in March or April.

Last year, the Evening News reported that talks were taking place to find an investor to take on the crumbling dry ski slope amid warnings that it was in need of urgent investment and repair.

Staff at the publicly-owned facility were frequently having to cannibalise parts from secondary slopes to keep the main run open, as money for repairs and replacements became increasingly scarce.

Councillor Colin Beattie, SNP deputy group leader, said: "Obviously the centre is making a loss and that's been well flagged up at council meetings for some time.

"Officers are being charged to go away and come back with all the options, and impact assessments of these options, and put them to full council.

"I would imagine that they will be looking at every option, including business partnership. No decision has been taken yet.

"It's a case of what is best for the community and also what will reduce the very substantial costs. It is not just the revenue losses that are the problem – a lot of repairs are needed in the future.

"I hope that one of the options will be viable for retaining the centre and finding a way to better develop and manage it."

A regular user of the centre said: "My whole family uses the centre, and my daughter and son learned to ski there through the school. I probably use the centre about 20 times a year.

"I would be devastated if it closed, the council should do everything they can to save it. The centre is used by hundreds of thousands of people every year."

Rhona Brankin, Labour MSP for Midlothian, said it would be a "great pity" if Hillend closed.

"With the kind of settlement that Midlothian Council has had from the government, I know it's going to find it very difficult. I would call on the Scottish Government to look at how they could put funding in to keep it open."

Cllr Derek Milligan, leader of Midlothian Council, said: "It should come as no surprise that we are facing some tough choices as a result of cuts in government funding. Worst case estimates suggest we need to make cuts of some 18m in the near future.

"We are looking at the options for the Midlothian Snowsports Centre to reduce current operating losses of some 500,000 a year, but it is premature to comment further at this time."