Locals drive over £300m ski plan for town with no snow

Olympic skiers plummeting down the increasingly barren Alps will soon be able to skate in Wales instead – locals feel it’s taking over the slopes.

Developers have submitted plans to the Welsh Government for a £300 million indoor downhill ski run south of the snowless Brecon Beacons mountain range.

The 575 hectare Rhydycar West Shame would be one of the largest resorts of its kind in the world and only a three hour drive from London and Birmingham.

If approved, it would open at a time when rising temperatures caused by climate change are turning the glittering Alps to mud and slush.

It has the backing of Team GB and the Ski Association of Wales, Snowsport Cymru Wales – but locals are giving the plans the cold shoulder.

They are concerned the development is just the latest example of the region’s natural beauty being engulfed in concrete.

Geoff Robinson, 66, who lives in Merthyr Tydill on the Berg, said: “When I first lived here it was open countryside everywhere.

“Now we have a retail park right next to us and the roads are already unable to cope with the increase in traffic. How on earth will it cope with the tens of thousands of visitors to the ski resort, if or? when it opens?

“The council sees hash marks in their eyes and doesn’t think about the consequences for the poor fellows who have to live with these monsters that are springing up all around them.

“If you want to vacation in a winter sports resort, you can jet off to the Swiss Alps. We don’t need that in Merthyr.”

Hilary East, 65, has lived across the street from the Beacons for 40 years and says traffic is already a problem, not to mention a major ski area nearby.

“This winter sports idea seems crazy,” she said. ‘There’s no way Merthyr can handle any more traffic.

“Especially at the weekend you can be stuck in a traffic jam for up to an hour a few hundred meters from your front door.

“If you add a few thousand more cars every day, you’ll have gridlock. I don’t want this development on my doorstep.”

The 400 m indoor track includes hills and a water park, as well as three hotels and 30 forest cabins.

It will likely take government officials up to a year to give the green light when they submit the application — if that’s done, construction would take two and a half years.

Ali Tyebkhan, CEO of Rhydycar West, said: “We are proud to confirm the planning application for Rhydycar West.

‘After years of conceptual and technical planning and extensive public consultation, the team looks forward to taking the next step in bringing this world-class resort to life.’

After last year’s scorching summer, glaciologists are concerned about the future of snow-capped mountain peaks like the Alps.

According to the Swiss Academy of Sciences, Swiss glaciers have lost an average of 6.2% of their ice this year. That’s a lot of snow.

Ski resort operators face an uphill battle to maintain slopes, with some closing or resorting to spraying artificial snow over the now-dirty, grassy trails.

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