A SKI centre in Rossendale which was taken over by a social enterprise is going from strength to strength, according to the man at the helm.

Dave Fuller, managing director of the social enterprise that took over the Rawtenstall slope in September 2011, said his team was feeling much more confident as they entered their second full year.

The venue hired three new members of staff in the run-up to the busy Christmas period last month and plans are being made for further improvements to be made this year.

The beginners’ slope and fun park surfaces are earmarked for upgrades following major refurbishment to the main slope in May last year. Mr Fuller said he was delighted at how well-used and established the facility had become.

He said: “We have regular users from within a 50-mile radius, from south of Manchester up to the Lake District and even beyond that.

“We’re always improving the place and although sometimes progress is slower than you would like, when you’re battling against an economic decline, small growth is still growth.

“We’re much more confident now than we were last year in terms of delivering for our customers.”

The group recently missed out a £5,000 grant from Lancashire County Council’s Local Initiative Fund and Mr Fuller said that funding was an area that his team would be concentrating on in the next 12 months.

He said: “We’re going to look more intensely at getting funds on board, working with Sport England and Snowsport England. Our ski schools are the big focus during the dry season and they attract everyone from school groups through to older adults.

“We have a great cross-section of society using the slope and, although everything is time and money dependant, we’re heading in the right direction.”

Rossendale Council put the attraction out to tender in 2010 after a leisure review and closed it in April 2011 before the social enterprise stepped in.