AVON Ski Centre will build a new dry slope for beginners if North Somerset Council accepts its latest planning application.

If approved, the facilities in Churchill, built 27 years ago, will undergo a major upgrade to improve standards of security and access.

A similar application for a nursery dry ski slope was rejected in June 2008 but developers are confident the new plans rectify previous problems highlighted by planning officials.

The previous plan was rejected because council officials were concerned the new slope would be too close to nearby houses and would encroach into parts of the Mendip hills.

But developers are confident they have resolved the issues and want to build the nursery slope in woodland behind the existing building and claim it will be no more visible than the current main slope. They also say lighting would be obscured from view.

Developers Cubico Ltd prepared a report on behalf of the centre to outline the necessity of the expansion plans, stating the current setup was not practical.

The report said: “At present lessons are conducted at the base of the main slope and present an impediment to the more experienced skiers using the full length of the slope.”

The centre also wants to centralise all its facilities, including its first aid area and equipment storage, by extending the current building. Better disabled access and a new block of toilets will be installed as part of the improvements.

The move could further enhance the South West’s increasing reputation as the nation’s premier skiing region.

Avon ski centre’s proposal comes two months after planning permission was confirmed for the country’s longest indoor ski slope and world’s biggest climbing wall for the �50million Leisuredome UK site at Locking Parklands.