Comment: A great tip for ski enthusiasts

Feb 5 2010 Liverpool Daily Post

FOR those who think themselves rubbish at skiing, perhaps this is the perfect solution . . .

Today we reveal that local

sports enthusiasts want to build a ski slope on the former landfill site at Bromborough, Wirral. If the Government succeeds in its aim of drastically reducing the number of landfill sites, with its “green” strategy aimed at stepping up recycling or energy-efficient incineration, that will bring in its wake the problem of what to do with unused tips.

Housing would be difficult, perhaps, because of all that rotting matter producing excessive quantities of methane underground. But the “greening” of landfill sites, and the innovative suggestion we reveal today from the North West Ski Federation, would surely fit the bill.

Ski Federation officials point out that Wirral’s existing ski slope at the Oval, in Bebington, no longer meets the needs of most local skiers. And, of course, as shown by Wirral Council’s attempt to raise the borough’s profile with its drive to bring in golfers, any attempt to provide extra attractions would chime in admirably with the attempt to rebrand the Peninsula as a leading visitor destination.

It must be said there is a long, long way to go yet, however. There may be technical reasons why a ski slope on the old tip might be impractical; the cost of such a project might even prove insurmountable.

But anything is better than a sad and empty landfill site. We wish its supporters all the best for the future.

Cash questions

AT LAST, we hope, the MPs expenses fiasco may have come to a conclusion, following the five-year audit of Commons allowances.

Rarely has politics been so tainted as it has been in this entire sorry saga. We can only hope it does not deter people from voting in the general election later this year.

But we shall see. We await the turnout figures with interest.