Plans have been submitted for a £28m indoor snowsports destination, to be built on an 11-acre site next to the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

The 250,000sq ft venue, to be called Chill Factor E, is scheduled to open in 2006, and will offer two distinct environments, Chill-down and Warm-up.

Chill-down will feature three separate slopes of different difficulty levels with a piste of 180m dropping around 40m. Each slope will also have its own separate lift.

There will also be an indoor wall of ice for climbers and a Winter Wonderland with snow castles and igloos where children can build snowmen and toboggan.

Adjacent to Chill-down will be the Warm-up zone with retail outlets, Alpine-themed bars and restaurants with panoramic windows and balconies looking out onto the slopes for apres-ski.

Peter Moore, chair of the management team behind the scheme, Mountain Activities, said the scheme had to be a destination in order to attract the greatest range of visitors.

“We looked at many places around the world and by and large they focus on facility and lack authentic experience,” he said.

“Too often it is limited to ‘ski, get changed, go home’, yet everyone knows the buzz about snowsports is both on and off the piste.”

“Chill Factor E will provide for people wishing to loosen up before a holiday, fine-tune their skills or take their first steps as a learner, but it will also be a whole-family, whole-day, fun experience.”

Joining Peter Moore, who was responsible for developing and launching Center Parcs in the UK, in the management team are David Sterland, who worked on the development of Xscape Milton Keynes, Bob Brigham of winter sports retailer, Ellis Brigham, and former managing director of Wycombe Summit, Andrew Lockerbie. The complex has been designed by architects, FaulknerBrowns.

The application for the scheme has been jointly submitted to Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council with Peel Holdings, the owner of the Trafford Centre.

The shopping and leisure centre already boasts hotels, a golf driving range, a David Lloyd Leisure fitness club and a JJB Soccer Dome.