Ice rink plan agreed subject to biodiversity target

Ice skating has been a festive feature in Lower Gardens for more than a decade

A committee has agreed an ice rink that has been open for a week can have planning permission if the organiser meets biodiversity targets.

Seventa Events opened the site, as part of the Christmas in Bournemouth event, while organisers were waiting for its planning application to be decided.

It was recommended for refusal due to the "unauthorised removal of a cherry tree" and because the application was "not compliant" with biodiversity targets.

Bournemouth Coastal BID, which is sponsoring the event, said it was "welcome news" that the attraction could stay in place.

The application proposed the temporary installation of the winter event from October 2025 to 25 January 2026.

To replace the felled cherry tree Seventa Events has proposed planting six more trees.

Overall, that provides a 1.35% net gain in biodiversity for the area, which is below the 10% required.

The requirement was introduced to ensure that new developments left nature in a better state than before.

BCP deputy leader Mike Cox said the recommendation for refusal had been was down to a "strange quirk" in biodiversity-net-gain (BNG) legislation.

During the meeting councillor Sara Armstrong said: "If a resident was doing this then enforcement would be swift and serious, why should the council or its partners be treated any different to our residents?"

Councillor Andy Martin expressed support for the applicant, who he said had "invested significantly in the town in the last nine years".

"Something that has become even more important when BCP continues to experience financial challenges and is more and more reliant on others to deliver what we can no longer do," he added.

Seventa Events submitted the planning application in June, construction began in Lower Gardens on 27 October, and it opened on 13 November.

Fiona McArthur, manager of Bournemouth Coastal BID, said: "We are encouraged by today's Planning Committee outcome, with members minded to grant permission for Christmas in Bournemouth once the remaining Biodiversity Net Gain point is resolved.

"The deferral to the Head of Planning means the attraction can stay in place while this is worked through, which is welcome news for local businesses during such an important trading period.

"We are optimistic that a solution can be reached that supports both the protection of Bournemouth's natural spaces and the continued success of our town centre and for Christmas 2025."