PROPOSALS for a £30m snow centre which could bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Tees Valley have been made public.

A Stockton-based company has released striking artist's impressions of the new leisure centre which would be build in the Middlehaven area close to Middlesbrough town centre and in the shadow of the Transporter Bridge.

The sports dome could create about 300 jobs and an outline planning application by Cool Runnings (NE) Ltd is due to be submitted in the coming days.

As well as ski slopes for beginners and advanced users the snow centre would also have facilities for sledging and ice wall climbing as well as a trampoline park, climbing wall and indoor sky dive centre. There would also be restaurants, bars, a cafe and shops.

The ambitious plans, drawn up by Summerhouse Architects, and a demand study undertaken to assess the potential of the project has estimated a projected footfall of 2.25m visitors every year. That figure would not just be for the snow centre but for the entire complex, including the retail area.

Rachael Howson, of Cool Runnings (NE) Ltd, said: “We hope these images help show the immense ambition we have for the snow centre.

“The Middlehaven site is perfect for a development such as this and we’re confident that it would be a great success.

“All of the research shows it is a hugely viable proposition and would bring with it a major boost for the local economy with anticipated visitors numbers in excess of two million annually.”

Currently, the nearest snow centre to Middlesbrough is in Castleford, West Yorkshire.

The ambitious scheme would take recent investment in Middlehaven which has included projects such as Middlesbrough College and a neurological rehabilitation centre, through the £200m barrier.

Cllr Charlie Rooney, Deputy Mayor of Middlesbrough and Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “A snow centre such as the one proposed would be a major boost in terms of our aspirations for Middlehaven and bring with it a huge number of jobs as well as magnificent facilities and opportunities for Teesside’s residents.”

A public consultation on the proposals will take place at mima in Middlesbrough’s Centre Square on Thursday, August 6 between noon and 7pm.

Members of the public are now being asked for their views on the development. Responses or businesses enquiries can be made to Rachael Howson via www.coolrunningsne.co.uk.