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FUNDS TO COMPLETE AN ‘ALL-SEASON’ CONVERSION PROJECT HAVE RUN OUT  A major ski station in the French Alps has announced it is shutting down, threatening both the jobs of up to 200 employees

and the local economy of the area.  The Alpe du Grand Serre resort, near La Morte (Isère), announced its closure on Friday (October 4), after local council members voted not to open the

station for the upcoming season.  The closure of the resort this winter effectively ends the chance of the station opening in the future, due to a lack of revenue and resort maintenance. The

local Matheysine community of communes where the resort is located cited financial difficulties as the reason for the closure.  These include an increasing annual deficit from running the

resort each winter, and a lack of funds for an ‘all-year’ conversion project as the main reasons for the closure.  Nearly €3 million has been spent since 2021 on a project that would have

seen the resort remain open year-round.  However, the resort still required another two years of work to achieve this.  “What I announced yesterday was that we had come to the unfortunate

conclusion that the community of communes could not cope financially for the next two years,” said Caroline Saurat, president of the community of communes. “The state is not giving us any

concrete support for the future of the resort or for a transitional operation,” she added. It is the largest ski resort of its kind to close in the northern Alps, and has once again prompted

calls for the government to invest in ski stations.  Numerous stations face closure, as the taste of tourists shift, and climate change adds an element of uncertainty to when snows will

arrive and affects how long stations can operate for. More than 180 ski resorts have closed in France since the 1970s, according to geographer Pierre-Alexandre Metral, with many of these

being small, family-owner operations. Read more: Highest ski station in Pyrenees definitely to close LOCAL ECONOMY IN JEOPARDY  The closure of the station will have a knock-on effect on the

village of La Morte, where the economy is largely centred around the resort.  “We are both devastated and shocked. It is a brutal decision, just two months before [the resort was set to open

for the winter]. On the contrary, we were optimistic. We thought all the lights were green,” said Lauranne Vincent, owner of a sports shop in the area, to France3.  “We have been left

completely in the lurch having only been here four years. Our lives will have been ruined. That is will happen to us,” said Frédérique Laurence, who runs a restaurant near the resort.  The

resort, which has over 50 km of pistes, was first opened 85 years ago.  It is not yet known what will happen to the land the resort sits on, which is nearly 1,400m above sea level.  The

reconversion project was to bring new activities including the introduction of hiking and bike paths in the area, however these have not been finished. Local authorities have said however

they plan to look into keeping activities in the area open and the local economy afloat.  Read more: Eurostar to relaunch London to Alps winter ski trains