Serving the Teesside Business Community | 53
Middlesbrough Council is investing nearly
£10m in a new dock bridge and access road.
and family for weekends. They’ll come to the
snow centre but they’ll also go for something
to eat, take part in other activities, stay over,
and many will then visit maybe Hartlepool
Marina or North York Moors or the white
water centre at Tees Barrage, so it will
benefit all parts of the Tees Valley, not just
Middlesbrough.”
The new road and bridge development,
which is being assisted by £3.93m from the
Local Growth Fund, will also create further
opportunities for the regeneration of the dock
as a marina and centre for water sports and
leisure use.
Initial artist’s impressions of the proposed
snow centre suggest the new building will
have the wow factor, and Parkes says this is
something the council is keen to encourage.
“We’ve always aspired to have high quality,
contemporary architecture in the area, and
the snow centre completely meets with that
objective. It will be a very vibrant, modern
building.
“Both Cool Runnings and the council are
keen to retain the quality, vision, aspiration
and ambition for the building we all want to
see, so a high-level architect is now being
brought in to fine-tune the designs.
“We want Middlehaven’s developments
to have a genuine sense of place and arrival
– somewhere that, no matter where you are
in the world, if you see a picture of it you’ll
know immediately that’s Middlesbrough.
“We already have some iconic architecture
at Middlehaven such as the Middlesbrough
College building, CIAC, Boho One, the Keiro
building and Temenos – plus, of course, the
Riverside Stadium, which was trailblazer in
its own right when it was built. The snow
centre will set the bar even higher.”
Middlesbrough Council’s interim chief
executive Tony Parkinson with Kevin Parkes,
executive director of growth and place.
We aim to deliver
with our Cool partner
P
ie in the sky? Tony Parkinson,
Middlesbrough Council’s interim chief
executive, has heard all the cynics who
refuse to believe the snow centre will ever
happen but insists the town is set to leave
behind its past and throw open its arms to a
bright new future.
“I fully understand why people think
it’s not going to happen,” he admits. “If
I was Joe Public, I probably wouldn’t
believe it either because it’s so fantastic
and transformational. But if we didn’t have
big ambitions we’d be doing the town a
disservice.
“We are an ambitious, innovative council
that has budgeted to invest £74m over the
next few years. The feedback we’re getting
from business and potential investors is
very positive – they like that we’re not risk-
averse.
“Working with people like Cool Runnings
is a perfect opportunity to be forward-
thinking and dynamic – to make a really
bold statement about what the Tees Valley
can achieve. We have to be confident and
ambitious.
“Castleford has demonstrated what can
be done, transforming an old coal site into
an iconic destination via a snow centre.
“And there is huge demand for more.
Right now there isn’t a snow centre
between Glasgow to the north and
Castleford to the south.
“The ambition, strength of character and
charisma of Cool Runnings has got this
project to where it is now, with the council
doing an awful lot of work in collaboration
with them.
“We won’t be deflected by people saying
it can’t happen in Middlesbrough.”