THE INDOOR ski slope in Selby will be removed this year, to make more room for other activities.

Selby District Council has agreed to invest £230,000 to make changes to its leisure centre and Summit Indoor Adventure in Scott Road, which opened two years ago.

The council cited increased demand for exercise classes and spaces to hold children’s parties and events at the site, and announced this week the ski slope would be removed and replaced with a new space "that can be used to supports lots of different activities".

Cllr Mark Crane, leader of the council and Executive member with responsibility for leisure services, said the loss of the ski slope was a response to public demand.

He said: "The Summit is such a great facility for Selby, the district and beyond – we want to make sure that we keep it that way by offering the things people really want.

"It’s become clear that although the skiing was initially a draw for people, it’s not proved to be as popular as other activities. This is about making the best use of the space to make sure the Summit can continue to go from strength to strength."

Peter Burt is managing director of Inspiring healthy lifestyles, which runs The Summit and Selby Leisure Centre for the council.

He said: "Leisure services must be flexible in order to meet the constantly changing needs of customers. These changes provide us with more usable space across the sites and allow us to meet the growing customer demand for exercise classes, parties and events."

The council is set to spend £230,000 removing the ski slope, but said all other activities at The Summit were unaffected, including the climbing wall, adventure play area, ride and skate park, aerial trek and bowling.

The improvements - which will take up to four months later this year - will also open up a new upstairs link with the leisure centre, to give access to changing facilities.