Dawn Morrison: Is the downhill struggle at an end for Hillend?

IT is one of the country’s best-loved sporting facilities and is looking forward to major investment and a bright future – just months after being on a very slippery slope.

A high-profile funding crisis came to a head last year when the Midlothian Snowsports Centre came perilously close to closure.

Since then a detailed rescue plan has been put in place to redevelop and modernise the facility, hopefully bringing a huge increase in visitor numbers.

But will the efforts to secure the future of the slopes be enough to bring Hillend back from the brink?

Last year, Midlothian Council, which is responsible for the day-to-day running of Hillend, announced it was making losses of £500,000 a year and first mooted the possibility of having to sell or lease the facility.

But it was later announced that the national sport agency Sportscotland would work with the council to secure £533,000 in funding for upgrades.

With funding secured, plans have been revealed for extensions to both the main and nursery slopes, the installation of two new travelator uplift systems and new snowtubing runs.

The project has an estimate cost of £1.5 million and pending a successful planning application, Midlothian Council leader Derek Milligan is confident construction work can begin in the next few months.

He said: “Work is being planned to ensure a virtually uninterrupted service at the centre this winter. Midlothian Council has worked closely with an expert team of designers and Sportscotland on the plans.

“If planning consent is granted, the council hopes to appoint a contractor and break ground on the project before the end of December this year. ”

Cllr Milligan is optimistic the improvements to the facility, situated on the face of the Pentland Hills, will provide an exciting new attraction for winter sports adrenaline seekers.

But he remains wary that the future of the snowsports centre will continue to be uncertain if the recent support shown is nothing more than a one-off token gesture. “We believe the future of the centre relies on the Scottish Government committing national funding to assist with the year-on-year costs,” he said.

“As one of the smallest councils in the country, we can’t be expected to continue to fund what has been acknowledged as a national treasure.”

David Ewart, project manager with Sportscotland, said: “We would not be looking to put capital investment in to a project unless we thought it would make a difference.

“We would hope this injection will help to put Midlothian Council in a better position to manage the centre.”

He added that in addition to capital funding, a programme to ensure more children took to the slopes had invested £400,000 in Sportscotland’s Active Schools programme.

Among those positive about the expansion plans is Jane Andrews, 47, from Liberton, who has three children who regularly train at Hillend as ski racers.

“When we run races at Hillend we have people coming from all over the UK and Ireland, because it is the longest slope in the UK, so I think it definitely should be given national status and it should receive Government funding.

“The expansion is definitely bringing Hillend in the right direction and hopefully will secure its future.”

* Skiing enthusiast Boyd Anderson first established a dry run at Hillend in 1964 - a 50 metre test slope.

An old school meals building was used as a workshop and ski hire centre.

The run was eventually added to, creating two longer runs serviced by a chairlift, a button tow and a T-bar tow.

Thousands of youngsters from the Lothians area use the centre every weekend and it is also the main base of several skiing clubs.

* Following the threat of closure in 2010, a Facebook group campaign to save the centre attracted 26,000 members.

* The cost of the running of the snowports centre has been met by Midlothian Council since 1996, despite fewer than 20 per cent of its users coming from the county.