The Tragedy of Wycombe Summit (From Bucks Free Press)

Hi Ollie
I am pleased to see you blogging again .
I remember the ski slope - I am not and never likely to be a skier lol BUT it was a great asset to the town and it is a shame to see it so derelict.
No doubt the council are in secret cahoots somewhere with some development company as this seems to be the way forward now.

Hi Ollie,
I too am gutted that the ski slope hasn't reopened. The proposed plans looked great- you can view them at www.wycombesummit.co
.uk
There was even going to be an ice skating rink! I have no idea why WDC weren't more helpful getting this new venture off the ground. They want the youth to get fit and yet they don't support facilities such as this.
I used to enjoy ski-ing at Wycombe Summit, and I too am saddened when we drive past and see the signs to it- why are HAVE the council left the signs there if they aren't planning to let the new centre go ahead? Does that indicate that there is a glimmer of hope for us?

The UK planning system is a joke. There is almost nothing right about it. That is before you consider how it could be manipulated or abused by the faceless of both the private and public sectors.
.
I never used, skiing is something that has never grabbed me and I have never tried. I do recall seeing the slope from the other side of the valley, floodlights on and the slopes looking pretty busy. Presumably not busy enough.
.
It does seem to me to be strange that such an ideal location for the facility has not been redeveloped since the fire. An indoor real snow version would surely bring crowds in from a wide area, especially if there was an ice rink - we could even have a HW ice hockey team! And curling for the less energetic perhaps?
.
Either the suspicions that there is already an unannounced plan may be well founded, or perhaps there are too many constraints imposed under our arcane planning rules to make a modern winter sports facility an uneconomic proposition. Finding a way to make it work is well beyond the capabilities of our councillors without doubt - after all they can't even keep our streets clear of snow and ice.

Hi Ollie,
.
I share your disappointment. I learned to ski on the old dry slope at Hillingdon and later at Hemel, before Wycombe Summit was built. Both my children learned to ski at Wycombe summit and in fact the lady instructor who gave them a lot of lessons was one of my early instructors at Hillingdon.
.
The kids group lessons were fantastic value and really paid dividends when the kids finally ended up on real snow up a real mountain.
.
I was under the impression that there was at least some level of approval for the redevelopment. I may be wrong on that though.
.
Given the current economic climate I would guess that raising the funding for redevelopment would be very difficult, especially given that the Hemel ski centre now has real snow and is close enough to be serious competition.
.
With the weather over the last few weeks it would have been great to be able to ski there on the snow - assuming the roads were usable. I remember a few years back (I think it must have been 1991) we had a big dump of snow one afternoon. I phoned up the Hillingdon slope to check that they were open (stupid question really) and with a couple of colleagues cashed in some flexitime and drove over there and with about 10 other people who had done the same thing had some serious fun in the snow.

Right - now it is time for the stupid question.
Does the slope at Hemel have real snow even when it has not been snowing? And if so, how is this possible?

*waits for Tom to throw his hands up in despair.. ;)

Throws hands up in despair :-)
.
Yes because its indoors. Its like the XScape at MK.
.
It used to be a plastic matting slope like wycombe, but they raised the finance to redevelop it before the shi t hit the fan and built a building over the old slope. This is more or less what they were proposing to do for Wycombe Summit
.
I've not been there yet but assume its pretty much like the place at MK. Its OK, but skiing down the same 200m of snow time after time, its not long before the boredom threshold is reached. On the other hand, its good practice, and much better for learning on than the plastic matting.

High Wycombe Councillors had insisted the company putting £150,000 into an account which could be accessed if the facility went bust
see full story
http://www.thisisloc
allondon.co.uk/news/
4397112.Wycombe_Snow
dome_development_und
er_threat/

tom.marlow wrote:
Throws hands up in despair :-) . Yes because its indoors. Its like the XScape at MK. . It used to be a plastic matting slope like wycombe, but they raised the finance to redevelop it before the shi t hit the fan and built a building over the old slope. This is more or less what they were proposing to do for Wycombe Summit . I've not been there yet but assume its pretty much like the place at MK. Its OK, but skiing down the same 200m of snow time after time, its not long before the boredom threshold is reached. On the other hand, its good practice, and much better for learning on than the plastic matting.

Indoor snow??????

OMG - now my brain has exploded.

Oh yes, I remember the stuff about the £150K fund now. Doesn't strike me as unreasonable given the dodgy financial history of it.
.
Not sure I'd trust the council not to spend it on something else though :-)

It certainly made Wycombe a bit different and had exciting appeal.

I'd like to see an indoor 'beach' somewhere in Wycombe.

As regards modern pools and running tracks we should have 3 or 4 of each dotted around the town, 'just down the road'... within walking distance from where we live.

And keep them simple.

People seem to forget all these things are to do with fitness. We are always forced to use and then park our cars to get somewhere like that ...

Maybe ALL schools should be better equipped with facilities that serve the greater community at times they are not being used as schools.

'Wycombe Beach'... wow.

I'd also like to see:

A magnificent 'Bucks Is Here' Viewing Tower near HC or hi-tech Arch over the Mway at HC - a spectacular jaw-dropping entry, not just to 'Wyco-Marlow', but to Bucks.

'Frogmoor' converted into a stage that, at times, can be raised about 100 feet in the air - a breath-taking venue for free concerts and other civic events.

A magnificent 'Town Centre Picnic Garden' ...

Plus ça change... wrote:
It certainly made Wycombe a bit different and had exciting appeal.

I'd like to see an indoor 'beach' somewhere in Wycombe.

As regards modern pools and running tracks we should have 3 or 4 of each dotted around the town, 'just down the road'... within walking distance from where we live.

And keep them simple.

People seem to forget all these things are to do with fitness. We are always forced to use and then park our cars to get somewhere like that ...

Maybe ALL schools should be better equipped with facilities that serve the greater community at times they are not being used as schools.

'Wycombe Beach'... wow.

I'd also like to see:

A magnificent 'Bucks Is Here' Viewing Tower near HC or hi-tech Arch over the Mway at HC - a spectacular jaw-dropping entry, not just to 'Wyco-Marlow', but to Bucks.

'Frogmoor' converted into a stage that, at times, can be raised about 100 feet in the air - a breath-taking venue for free concerts and other civic events.

A magnificent 'Town Centre Picnic Garden' ...

I'll vote for all that. Oops , I forgot - I've given up voting !
.
OK - I strongly approve of all those facilities Pcc mentioned (with only minor modifications).

Ollie, doesn't concern Wycombe Summit but thought you'd be interested in this:

http://www.nalc.gov.
uk/Toolkits/Create_a
_Council/Create_a_co
uncil.aspx

http://www.nalc.gov.
uk/Document/Download
.aspx?uid=37c3d2f7-4
bd4-4235-ae0f-cb0c07
7d232e

wayneo wrote:
Ollie, doesn't concern Wycombe Summit but thought you'd be interested in this:

http://www.nalc.gov.

uk/Toolkits/Create_a

_Council/Create_a_co

uncil.aspx

http://www.nalc.gov.

uk/Document/Download

.aspx?uid=37c3d2f7-4

bd4-4235-ae0f-cb0c07

7d232e

It certainly does. Thanks.

Thought you'd like it ;0) I think Wycombe is an ideal candidate myself.

Hey Guys there's a facebook petition for this please join and lend your support:

http://www.facebook.
com/group.php?gid=19
4328599998&ref=ts

The snowdome would be a fantastic opportunity for Wycombe it's residents and surrounding communities. It would bring jobs and people into the area. With good advertising of local businesses and facilities more people could be tempted to places like Eden. Overall I can only see the venture as a positive.

The ice rink would be amazing, our closest ones are Slough or Oxford!

If Snowdome are no longer interested perhaps another company who run similar style domes will consider the site.

I understand there were issues with the planning because the Snowdome group changed their plans making the slope wider and add in some function rooms. The council wanted the Snowdome group to put £150000 in an account to restore the area to it's former beauty (so a scarred landscape then) in case the venture went bust.

It's now been almost a year since we had any update on this, hence the Facebook petition, and I believe that Martin Smith (SnowDome) has been written to to see if the plans are still in the pipelines.

If not then other companies will be contacted!

I too felt much sadness when visiting the Slope. The waste! Even the lift system is 15 grands worth, rusting away....
As a board rider, i visited a few times when it was open however was not shocked when it burned down. I am however heavily involved in a sport called 'mountainboarding', and the Chilterns are fantastic for freeriding. Wycombe Summit (who manage Deangarden Wood next door) did not even offer a reply when i contacted them 2 years ago regarding a proposal to build in mountainbike/board/b
mx tracks into the woods and on the site (serviced by the same facilities). This would be such a fantastic location, with Wendover Woods/Aston Hill as a successful template. Of course it would encourage more crossover outdoor sports, give the local 'youth' something positive & different, bring more income, and be more environmentally conscious than just building a giant freezer. I for one appreciate a riding experience without having to spend £20 p/h.

For more information on mountainboarding, please check out

http://www.remolitio
n.com

February's front cover features riding in Bradenham & at The Golden Ball, and a new article "rolling or sliding?" featuring snowboarding in Wycombe during January's snow-fest.

Little Miss wrote:
Hey Guys there's a facebook petition for this please join and lend your support:

http://www.facebook.

com/group.php?gid=19

4328599998&ref=t
s

The snowdome would be a fantastic opportunity for Wycombe it's residents and surrounding communities. It would bring jobs and people into the area. With good advertising of local businesses and facilities more people could be tempted to places like Eden. Overall I can only see the venture as a positive.

The ice rink would be amazing, our closest ones are Slough or Oxford!

If Snowdome are no longer interested perhaps another company who run similar style domes will consider the site.

I understand there were issues with the planning because the Snowdome group changed their plans making the slope wider and add in some function rooms. The council wanted the Snowdome group to put £150000 in an account to restore the area to it's former beauty (so a scarred landscape then) in case the venture went bust.

It's now been almost a year since we had any update on this, hence the Facebook petition, and I believe that Martin Smith (SnowDome) has been written to to see if the plans are still in the pipelines.

If not then other companies will be contacted!

That's a great step forward- please keep us informed!

*WiL* wrote:
I too felt much sadness when visiting the Slope. The waste! Even the lift system is 15 grands worth, rusting away....
As a board rider, i visited a few times when it was open however was not shocked when it burned down. I am however heavily involved in a sport called 'mountainboarding', and the Chilterns are fantastic for freeriding. Wycombe Summit (who manage Deangarden Wood next door) did not even offer a reply when i contacted them 2 years ago regarding a proposal to build in mountainbike/board/b

mx tracks into the woods and on the site (serviced by the same facilities). This would be such a fantastic location, with Wendover Woods/Aston Hill as a successful template. Of course it would encourage more crossover outdoor sports, give the local 'youth' something positive & different, bring more income, and be more environmentally conscious than just building a giant freezer. I for one appreciate a riding experience without having to spend £20 p/h.

For more information on mountainboarding, please check out

http://www.remolitio

n.com

February's front cover features riding in Bradenham & at The Golden Ball, and a new article "rolling or sliding?" featuring snowboarding in Wycombe during January's snow-fest.

I will definately take a look- any feature on Wycombe or the area is good news.