A rare new dry slope complex has opened after a £1m re-development by Barr Construction of the Newmilns resort in East Ayrshire, Scotland.
Britain's newest ski slopes officially opened today (Saturday, November 2nd) at Newmilns Snow and Sports Complex on the day that heavy snow is forecast in the Cairngorms.
Barr Construction was on site for seven months transforming the original Newmilns ski slope to create two brand new slopes to cater for beginners to more advanced skiers.
"This project has been a tremendous success and a great challenge for the team at Barr Construction," said Paul Hollywood, project manager at Barr Construction. "We are confident the staff at NSASC will make a complete success of the new facilities and look forward to seeing many Scottish youngsters taking an active interest in snow sports with the addition of these top of the range slopes."
The centre has two slopes, 100 and 32 metres long respectively, and in a new tweak on the 'which surface is best?' debate for dry slopes, has two lengths of bristles to facilitate downhill skiing and manoeuvres to cater for skiers and snowboarders. For freestyle skiers and boarders a new table top jump area has also been created.
Barr Construction's mascot Barrney was at the opening event to meet the local community while checking out Barr's work on the upgraded facilities.
"We have a broad range of expertise in sporting facilities and it is a great achievement to add snow sports to our portfolio," added Mr Hollywood.
Newmilns Snow and Sports Complex was already a popular attraction in the local community, with many Ayrshire primary schools visiting of the complex before renovation began, and bookings have already been coming through thick and fast for the newly improved venue.
"After spending a lot of time raising the necessary funds for this redevelopment, it is extremely heartening to see the ski slopes up and running and attracting such a strong interest," said Bobby Pollock, chairman Newmilns Snow and Sports Complex, "Barr Construction has worked tirelessly to meet our specialist requirements and the centre is now fully equipped to keep up with growing demand.
Set to boost local interest in winter sports and shape the next generation of professional Scottish skiers and boarders, the centre also received backing from The Scottish Government.
Newmilns Snow and Sport Complex is a registered charity and social enterprise community organisation and raised funding for this renovation from a variety of organisations such as sportscotland, Landfill Communities Fund, The Robertson Trust, the Scottish Rural Development Programme, Social Investment Scotland and received a final grant from East Ayrshire Council.