Construction work has started on Britain’s sixth indoor snow centre at Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, southern England. The centre is scheduled to open in April 2009 and is one of two new snowdomes scheduled to open next year. With the opening of Wycombe Snowdome, scheduled for the fall of 2009, the UK and the Netherlands will the same amount of snowdomes, trailing Japan for the number of operational centres.

The new centre will see the established 160m artificial surface slope, which first opened 30 years ago in 1978, converted to an indoor snow slope at a cost of £23 million (UK) with an additional 100 m nursery slope added. There will be three surface lifts and the slope will offer a variety of gradients for all ability levels.

Within the complex, which is being built by Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, who built the recently opened Chill Factore near Manchester, there’ll be a large Snow and Rock ski shop, a restaurant will overlooking the slopes, coffee shops and meeting rooms. The structure will be covered by a giant grass roof to help make it more environmentally friendly and visually unobtrusive.

We see indoor slopes as the future for skiing and snowboarding in Britain and our aim is to create a superb facility that will allow people to enjoy the sport all year round.”

David Surrey, director of the existing Hemel Ski Centre, said.