The owners of popular leisure destination XSite at Braehead have "regretfully" announced the permanent closure of Scotland's only indoor ski slope.

Braehead Leisure Partnership concluded that, after "exhaustive" research and investigation, Snow Factor - given its age and poor condition - is rendered unviable.

The "complex task" of removing the ski slope - which is expected to take around three months to complete - will start in late Autumn. 

XSite will remain open while works take place, Braehead Leisure Partnership added.

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Matt Beddow, representing XSite Braehead said: “It has been a very difficult decision to make and the Braehead Leisure Partnership has concluded that the poor condition and age of the facility, combined with the dramatically increased running costs of this 17-year-old installation, make it unviable for us to support the slope as a commercial operation going forward.

"Moreover, the underlying environmental impact of keeping eight million litres of snow and ice - equivalent to three Olympic[1]sized swimming pools - at low temperatures is a significant sustainability concern for us all.

“We must now focus on the future. We are working on options to reopen this amazing space as a new and thrilling attraction with a broad appeal.

"In the meantime, we continue to attract loyal visitors from across the region and the site has enjoyed a record summer of footfall, with blockbuster movie releases and a host of family-friendly free events contributing to one of its busiest ever summers.

"I look forward to sharing more details in the coming weeks and of course we will keep XSite’s visitors, and the local community fully updated on this journey.”