Ice rink plans set for refusal over 'strange quirk'

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

Councillors are being asked to refuse planning permission for a temporary ice rink that has been open for almost a week.

SKATE Bournemouth opened the rink in Bournemouth's Lower Gardens on Friday as part of the town's festive offering, developed with Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council.

But the planning application, submitted in June by Bournemouth Christmas Events, has been recommended for refusal, due to the "unauthorised removal of a cherry tree" and because the application itself was "not compliant".

BCP deputy leader Mike Cox said the recommendation was down to a "strange quirk" in biodiversity-net-gain (BNG) legislation, and due to a complaint from a councillor.

Simon Smith, of SKATE Bournemouth and Bournemouth Christmas Events, said: "We would rather not comment at this time as we have to respect the planning procedures."

Ice skating has been a winter feature in Lower Gardens since 2013 and operator SKATE Bournemouth said this year's rink was the "longest in the UK".

Independent councillor Stephen Bartlett had objected to the plans, saying: "The damage caused renders the garden unusable and unattractive for several months."

He added that the cherry tree had been "felled by the council at the request of the applicant to facilitate the enlargement of the development".

In the planning report, due to be discussed on Thursday, the reasons for refusal state the application was "not compliant" due to missing information.

'Importance of this event'

It also said it had not demonstrated how it would achieve the "statutory 10% net gain in biodiversity required by legislation".

A BCP Council spokesperson said: "We have worked with operators to combine the Christmas market and ice rink with illuminated Christmas trees.

"The events in the Bournemouth Lower Gardens have needed to go through the planning process.

"We fully appreciate the importance of this event to the town centre but, as a council, we must respect the integrity of the planning process and await the committee's decision on 20 November."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Mr Cox previously described the refusal reasons as a "strange quirk".

He said the administration would "continue to support the skating rink and will ask that the committee assess the proportionality of this recommendation and the likely changes to BNG legislation to cater for temporary structures".

The ice rink, supported by the town's Business Improvement District, is due to remain open until 4 January.