Sheffield Ski Village: Photos show abandoned sports complex after latest arson attack

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said the blaze on Wednesday at the Parkwood Springs site is believed to have been started deliberately – the latest in a long list of arson attacks at the site over the years.

Firefighters were called to the blaze after smoke could be billowing on the hillside of the former artificial ski slope complex.

The fire broke out after the UK shattered temperature records on Tuesday, with parts of South Yorkshire

reaching an unprecedented 39C and wildfires breaking out.

But the Ski Village blaze was put down to arson.

MORE: From opening in 1988 to arson attacks and new plans for 'first in the world' Gravity Park

In the aftermath of the fire, large swathes of grassland were scorched black with some trees’ leaves visibly discoloured.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue managed to get the blaze under control and no-one is believed to have been injured.

It is now 10 years since the site closed.

It was Europe’s largest artificial ski resort at its peak during the 90s and noughties however it was destroyed by fire and closed in 2012.

The site has since suffered over 50 different arson attacks.

In 2016, Sheffield City Council started seeking investors to re-develop site.

The development firm Extreme Leisure won the bid to re-develop the site into a £25m ski resort in 2017.

This contract was terminated however in 2021 when the firm was sacked for being too slow.

In April of this year, the city council said it was talking to a New Zealand-based company about developing a ‘Gravity Park’.

Skylines Enterprises had been unveiled as a potential partner in December 2021.

The company submitted a number of ideas for the site, including sledging and zip wires.

The chief executive then said it could take ‘three to four’ years to develop and that there were two big issues involved in the development – contamination and access.

The council said there was contamination and the remainder of the former Ski Village which burned down.

£200,000 was announced for a site investigation and clean-up in a bid to attract investment.

Detailed discussions are continuing between Skyline Enterprises and the council about breathing a new lease of life into the site.