A DOWNHILL mountain bike course looks set to be built in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh.

Representatives from the mountain biking world have held informal talks with the Scottish Sports Council, Scottish Cyclists Union, and the management of the Pentland Hill Regional Park. If the project goes ahead, it is expected to increase significantly visitor numbers at the Midlothian Ski Centre at Hillend on the outskirts of the city.

It would also take pressure off more sensitive areas of the Pentland Hills, where mountain biking is a growing problem in terms of hill-top erosion.