Ski slope report gets green light

Councillors have approved a report recommending price rises and cuts to staff costs at Scotland's biggest artificial ski slope.

The report recommended Midlothian Ski Centre at Hillend stayed open for the next five months while a series of efficiency savings were implemented. The plan is to make it more marketable to aid the search for national backers.

Midlothian Council, Scotland's second smallest authority, has spent more than £5m subsidising the centre since 1996. The plan is for council officials to come up with a strategy for the sale or lease of the site in August. It follows Midlothian Council's announcement it could not pay the site's £500,000 a year losses.

The report, which councillors voted on on Tuesday, also said it would cost £1.2m to close the slope down as there would be £300,000 in redundancy costs and £900,000 in dismantling fees. The proposed efficiency savings include increasing charges, improving the cafe and making staff changes.

Snow brings delight to ski centres

Scotland's ski centres said they had enjoyed the best start to the season in decades thanks to the continued cold snap.

Heavy snowfalls and consistently low temperatures have led to a bumper year for ski centre visitors, despite severe weather warnings and problems on many of the surrounding roads.

The Nevis Range centre in Fort William has enjoyed its busiest start to the ski season for a decade, while the Cairngorms centre, near Aviemore, reported the best snowfall it had seen since 1996.