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

Sheffield Ski Village was hugely successful after it opened in 1988 and attracted skiers from across the North and Midlands.
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But it was destroyed by fire in 2012 and there are complex and expensive barriers to getting it redeveloped. We look back at its chequered history.

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Former Sheffield Ski Village could become new Gravity Park as council looks at n...

2012

New plans to redevelop the former Ski Village at Parkwood Springs in Sheffield have been submitted to the council by international company Skyline Luge.New plans to redevelop the former Ski Village at Parkwood Springs in Sheffield have been submitted to the council by international company Skyline Luge.
New plans to redevelop the former Ski Village at Parkwood Springs in Sheffield have been submitted to the council by international company Skyline Luge.

Sheffield Ski Village, a 51-acre site with eight slopes, is destroyed by fire after 24 years operating at Parkwood.

2015

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Sheffield Council looks at the options for the site and identifies the opportunity to develop an outdoor sport and leisure attraction which could ‘aspire to be a tourist destination of regional significance’.

2017

Could a Gravity Park with zip lines and sledding open at Parkwood, a decade after the Sheffield Ski Village closed?Could a Gravity Park with zip lines and sledding open at Parkwood, a decade after the Sheffield Ski Village closed?
Could a Gravity Park with zip lines and sledding open at Parkwood, a decade after the Sheffield Ski Village closed?

The council has an open market competition for a development partner to bring the site back as an outdoor leisure destination, intended to be ‘the jewel in the crown of the Outdoor City’.

Extreme Leisure is selected to deliver a modern ski slope, mountain biking trails and visitor accommodation on the site.

A lease between the council and Extreme is signed. Under the terms of the agreement, Extreme has to progress design works and meet certain set conditions within specific timescales.

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While working up their development proposals and to help with scheme viability, Extreme agrees to sublet part of the site to Skyline Luge for a zip wire and luge – feet first sledding.

The former Sheffield Ski Village has been plagued by arson attacks and fly tipping since it closed in 2012.The former Sheffield Ski Village has been plagued by arson attacks and fly tipping since it closed in 2012.
The former Sheffield Ski Village has been plagued by arson attacks and fly tipping since it closed in 2012.

The council secures a £4.8m loan from Sheffield City Region to support the construction of an access road, car park and site infrastructure

2018

The council produces a draft masterplan for the wider Parkwood Springs area including a long term vision for a ‘country park in the city’. A key part is the development of the former Ski Village as a ‘pay to play’ leisure destination.

New plans to redevelop the former Ski Village at Parkwood Springs in Sheffield have been submitted to the council by international company Skyline Luge.New plans to redevelop the former Ski Village at Parkwood Springs in Sheffield have been submitted to the council by international company Skyline Luge.
New plans to redevelop the former Ski Village at Parkwood Springs in Sheffield have been submitted to the council by international company Skyline Luge.

2020

A grant of £6m from the Get Britain Building Fund helps unlock the development.

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The council extends the milestone dates several times to reflect the impact of the pandemic but says Extreme fails to sufficiently progress the detailed design work, and in particular for the access road.

This lack of performance puts the funding and delivery of the road at risk so the council steps in and procures the design and construction of the road.

The completed road designs and costings showed the delivery proposed by Extreme is complex and challenging on the timescale required by the grant funding.

The council ‘reluctantly’ pauses work on the road design to avoid unnecessary financial exposure and risk to the council. The £6m funding is reallocated to other priority projects in Sheffield.

August 2021

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Without the grant funding, the Extreme scheme is not viable. The council says when added to their failure to meet any of the key milestones and progress the design work, the decision not to further extend the timescales is taken. The agreement with Extreme ends.

January 2022

Ten years after the Ski Village closed, the council looks at Skyline Luge who says it’s committed to Parkwood and is interested in a land transaction.

A new ‘first in the world’ Gravity Park with sledging and zip wires could be created by the international operator, who develops and operates outdoor leisure destinations across the world including New Zealand, Canada, South Korea and Singapore.

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