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Bosses at the University of Central ������Ƶ (UCLan) have revealed an entrepreneurial plan to convert a previously doomed row of terraced houses into a nursery ski and snowboarding slope.

The houses, on St Peter’s Square, were due to be demolished as part of the University’s £200 million Masterplan proposals.

Now, due to on-going work to strengthen the Miley Tunnel, which runs directly beneath the houses, the demolition plans have been put on ice.

UCLan’s Michael Ahern, Chief Operating Officer, said plans to build the new student centre and civic square would continue as planned but that the new indoor ski and snowboarding slope would play a fantastic new role in enhancing the student experience.

“Our plan is to knock through the partitioning walls of all the houses to create the indoor nursery slope which will be nearly 100 metres long,” he explained.

“The full indoor conversion should be quite rapid meaning that students enrolling on our outdoor education courses as well as the Preston public could be on the slope and sampling the Preston après ski by September.”

He added: “Some people think we might be going a little off-piste with this, but it’ll be skiing and snowboarding with a northern twist.  It’s certainly snow joke.”