A group of ski enthusiasts are campaigning for the old ski village in Sheffield to be reopened after its closure over ten years ago.
Once the largest artificial ski slope in Europe, Sheffield Ski Village closed down in 2012 after an arson attack. Since its closure, several attempts have been made to rebuild the site, none of which were successful.
Now, former snowboarding instructor at the site, Pete Shipston, has created a campaign called ‘Revive Sheffield Ski Village‘ (RSSV), in an attempt to finally bring the slopes back to their former glory.
He said: “Personally I know that site…I was part of that community, so I have a personal interest, I’ve been watching it for the past 12 years.”
The campaign claims that the regeneration project is not only about skiing, but becoming a sustainable outlet by developing the land to benefit both people and wildlife.
After a recent bout of snow in Sheffield, Mr Shipston took to the deserted slopes for the first time since the site’s closure. He filmed his journey down the slopes, and created a documentary, which was shown at Sheffield Adventure Film Festival 2025, in the hopes of spreading awareness for the cause.
He said the viewing of the documentary was ‘brilliant’ and that the project has been well-received within the outdoors community.
The government have not yet announced plans for the site to return to its former condition, but there are plans to spend £19 million on developing the Parkwood Springs area, where the slopes are located, as part of a Sheffield ‘Levelling Up’ scheme.
Mr Shipston hopes to engage both University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam ski societies in the project and says the skiing community are hopeful that this might be the push needed to bring the venue back to life again.