A GROUP of residents are battling to stop developers building a monster indoor ski centre which they say will ruin their neighbourhood.
The massive £300million holiday resort not only proposes to include a ski centre, but a tropical water park, adventure zone, and accommodation, too.
The developers announced their plans for the “world-class” attraction at Merthyr Tydfil, Wales in recent weeks.
But, those living closest to the 575-acre site where the “monstrosity” is proposed to pop up have the slammed idea.
The locals say such a development is too big for their small town and will cause gridlock on their country roads.
Plus, they’ve blasted developers for sharing the idea with local media before consulting them.
The developers also say the project will create 1,600 jobs during the construction stage, and 500 permanent spots once complete.
But residents are not convinced – and say they doubt local workers will see any of the business.
Hilary East, 65, who has lived opposite the proposed site for the past 40 years, is one of those who has blasted the idea.
She told The Sun Online: “This snow resort idea seems crazy. There’s no way Merthyr can cope with any more traffic.
“At weekends especially, you can be stuck in traffic jams a few hundred metres from your front door for up to an hour.
“If you throw in a couple of thousand more cars every day, it will be gridlock.
“I don’t want this development on my doorstep.”
The grandmother added that locals had not been consulted about the project.
She said: “We only heard about this on local media. No one from the developers has ever made themselves known to us or invited us to a public meeting to share their vision.
“If they had, I might feel better about it. But it’s all so secretive no one really knows what it’s going to be like, so you’re left expecting the worst.”
But the project has been in the pipeline for a while, and chief operating officer Richard Arnold said they had already been looking to collaborate with the likes of Snowsports Wales and Team GB – which were “in favour of the project”.
He told WalesOnline: “It will be the longest [ski slope] in the UK and the objective is to make it the UK Centre of Snowsport Excellence because that’s where Team GB will bring their athletes in the summer months and [for] progressive training.
“It will be approved by the Federation of International Skiing so there will be international competitions. There is a full-size board park inside it too. It’s a completely new ball game.
“It’s conceivable – we like to think – that having these world-class facilities on the back door of Merthyr, it’s only a matter of years before somebody from Merthyr will be a winter sports medal winner.”
But, neighbour Geoff Robinson, 66, mirrored Hilary’s concerns.
The artist said: “When I first lived here it was open countryside all around.
“Now we’ve got a retail park slap bang next to us and the roads already can’t cope with the volume of traffic that attracts, so how on earth will it cope with the tens of thousands of visitors to the snow resort when or if it opens?
“The council get pound signs before their eyes and fail to consider the consequences for the poor sods that have to live with these monstrosities springing up around them.
“If people want a holiday at a snow resort, they can jet off to the Swiss Alps. We don’t need something like this in Merthyr.”
He added: “I’d be surprised if any local tradesmen get hired during the construction phase. They’ll be brought in from miles away.
“And the profits won’t be shared and enjoyed by the local community because it will all go into the pockets of the developers and the shareholders.”
Local builder Jason Hopson, 50, agreed.
He said with a smirk: “No one’s given me a call yet to ask if I’m available for work there.
“I do worry about the traffic chaos that will be caused by this development, if it goes ahead, because it’s already far more than the town can cope with – and this area in particular because of the retail park next door and another one nearby.
“If they built decent infrastructure to cope with extra traffic and people, I might feel more in favour, but this proposed resort will just make an already awful situation even worse.”
Another local, retired construction worker Robert Harris, 72, said: “It will be life-changing for everyone around here – and not in a good way, I can tell you.
“When I was growing up here, it was paradise. So peaceful and unspoilt views for miles. Now it’s traffic chaos and retail parks as far as the eye can see.
“This will add to the congestion and eyesore.”
But Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council said it is yet to see any formal plans for the development.
It said: “We have not yet received a planning application but when/if we do, it should include a Transport Assessment which will consider such issues.
“Residents can submit letters of objection/comment/support as part of any planning application process, which will be taken into consideration when determining the application.”
Mr Arnold, the project chief operating officer, said they were planning to submit plans to council this month.
He previously told WalesOnline: “We are excited about the location as we think the valleys is becoming the epicentre of adventure tourism with Bike Park Wales and Zip World.
“We want to be a base camp for the uniqueness of the Welsh valleys area and there’s no better place.
“We want to create that guarantee that will make people want to come and engage and stay longer – many trips here are one-day trips or short trips.
“The real jobs are in the hands of local entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity and bring footfall into the town restaurants – we want the clientele to be roaming into the valleys having great accommodation.
“If the weather isn’t good, they’ve always got something to do.”
