Unite says sorry for proposing sale of Bristol Ice Rink
THE landlord of Bristol's ice rink says it regrets that the venue has to close down.
But student accommodation provider Unite says it will press on with its redevelopment – and claims the city will benefit from the scheme.
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Bristol Ice Rink
The Evening Post revealed earlier this month that the rink in Frogmore Street was to close after more than 45 years, leaving the city without any permanent skating facilities.
It is used by hundreds of skating enthusiasts, groups and clubs and a petition against the closure has already gained more than 3,700 signatures.
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The announcement has also meant that the city's ice hockey team – the Bristol Pitbulls – is facing a bleak future.
Team manager Richie Hargreaves last night said the team would have to look for a home outside Bristol and branded the situation for sport in the city "ridiculous".
Bristol-based Unite is one of the largest student accommodation firms in the country and specialises in converting city centre office blocks into flats. It has owned the ice rink building for a decade and has decided now is the time to press ahead with the renovation of the building.
Its full plans for the building are likely to be made public next month in a series of public exhibitions. Unite has said that it may include a smaller ice rink in the designs but this will not be big enough for competitive skating or ice hockey.
A spokesman for Unite said the company had met with representatives from the Bristol Ice Rink User Group to explain the background to its proposals and discuss the option of a smaller rink and, if this did not prove acceptable to existing rink users, it was committed to providing another form of leisure facility.
He said: "We decided to redevelop the site after discussions with John Nike Group, about the long-term sustainability of the current ice rink. Their lease expires in January 2013, which will mean the closure of the rink in October 2012 to allow for decommissioning.
"This is a very unusual situation for Unite, as our developments usually take place on redundant or empty sites where the addition of student accommodation often helps regenerate a depressed area.
"We regret that this development will mean the loss of the Bristol Ice Rink; however, believe that our plans for the site will, ultimately, benefit the city. Providing a home for more students in the city centre, with their associated spending power, will provide a boost to other businesses, and the new managed student accommodation will support the future plans of the Bristol's universities, while alleviating pressure from students on the city's private housing.
"Our proposal will also include improvements to the public space around the site and the building's access and facade, which will benefit the O2 Academy and look of the area."
The company intends to include neighbours in talks over the design of the new site and a public exhibition with more details of the plans is likely to be held within weeks.
A planning application is expected by the summer and, if approved, the multi-million pound scheme could be completed by September 2014.
Clubs based at the ice rink have several hundreds of members and a new figure skating club was launched just last night. It attracts several thousand visitors a week during school holidays.
The ice rink was originally opened in 1966 as part of an entertainment complex which included a restaurant, cinema, ballroom and bingo hall. It became famous for its connections with Olympic champion Robin Cousins who trained there as a young man. Mr Cousins grew up in Sea Mills and started learning to skate as soon as the rink opened.
Pitbulls boss Mr Hargreaves said: "We went to see Unite last week and as the conversation went on it became clear where they stood. In a way it did help, because we now know exactly what Unite plan to do with the building and we are not in their plans. We then went to see council and we were told that they will support us but that ice skating is not on their agenda. We are now looking at putting together a business plan.
"We are also now looking at our options outside of Bristol. Gloucestershire Cricket Club has been through the same thing and are also looking at leaving Bristol. It is ridiculous – the way things are going there will nothing left in Bristol.
"We have people on the team who came to study in Bristol so they could play for us and it is a real shame."
The Save the Ice Rink petition is at www.thepetitionsite.com.
Comments
by flyfiferphoto
Monday, January 30 2012, 10:59AM
“To all those who seem to be convinced that the rink is not profitable, it is absolutely not true. The decision to turn these into student flats is not financial, something that John Nike Leisuresport have stressed from the start.”
by marsy12
Monday, January 30 2012, 3:29AM
“''and claims the city will benefit from the scheme.'' - really?”
by Commenter42
Sunday, January 29 2012, 5:37PM
“I can't get over all the mock outrage at this. If people wanted the ice rink, they should have used the ice rink. It's not happening and has been losing money for years. The only sensible decision is to close it.”
by councilcritic
Sunday, January 29 2012, 5:06PM
“Unite are obviously a company that cares about nothing except their own profit margins, perhaps a group should be formed that asks Unite to move out of Bristol because as it stands they are hated and despised, they are obviously completely hypocritical to issue an apology in one breath, but in the next say we are still gonna carry on, Bristols message to Unite is WE HATE YOU AND DESPISE YOU, GET OUT OF BRISTOL AND NEVER COME BACK.”
by Gazzabristol
Sunday, January 29 2012, 5:01PM
“Hedgehog I sympathise with the plight of some of the users but I fear you are shoving your head in the sand and not listening to what I say.
Of course a substantial number of them are 17 year old bus users. Now tell me how well is the business doing? Exactly my point!
What did I tell you about getting the masses with the money in there? You won't and are not surviving based on an audience of 17 year olds going in by bus. Yes if you build it out of town those guys can't get there. I agree that is very sad. However the rink in Bristol WILL close and then they won't be going skating anyway. They are screwed and there is nothing we can do about it.
As for the people in South Bristol, well I'm sorry if some have difficulty getting there although many manage to get to the Aspects Leisure Park or even the Mall and as I said an out of town rink is easier to get to than no rink at all. Granted it would be better if the Ring Road were finished but the whiners keep blocking it. Of course if you want to run a charity for the people in South Bristol to go Ice Skating then go ahead. Trouble is you don't have the money.
You see the people that have got the money will only be prepared to invest in a facility that....well I've explained it twice, I can't be bothered to say it a third time.
As for "The answer is to provide the kind of public transport that people will be happy to use".... come on man! We all know that! We have been saying that for donkeys years. Grab an Evening Post from 20 years ago and read the stories! You can campaign for it by all means and wait for something to happen. Your Ice rink will be loooooong gone before that ever happens.
The "lets build public transport that people want to use" argument is a bit like the "lets build houses on brown field sites to solve the housing crisis" old chestnut. We keep repeating the same tired lines over and over again whilst nothing ever happens and the situation just gets worse.”
by bemmynick
Sunday, January 29 2012, 4:06PM
“Just like to point out to GazzaBristol and others it's a lot easy to get into town driving a car than it is to get to East ,North or West Bristol because would have to drive through the centre of Bristol and onwards to get to my destination .
Take a look at Cardiff GazzaBristol all it's facilities are in the centre and they are doing a lot better than us.”
by max31268
Sunday, January 29 2012, 3:18PM
“student accommodation is extremely overpriced and not very nice. Don't do it!”
by SpinyHedgehog
Sunday, January 29 2012, 2:21PM
“Given that a substantial number of regulars at the ice rink are under 17, how the hedghehog do you expect them to own cars? And what about the people in South Bristol?
Yours is a counsel of despair. Following your advice, Bristol would end up like Detroit, with a dead centre surrounded by faceless suburbs.
The answer is to provide the kind of public transport that people will be happy to use, as in pretty well every other major city in England. I don't loathe car-depenednt people - I just regret the fact that the appalling public transport in Bristol creates so many of them...”
by Gazzabristol
Sunday, January 29 2012, 1:30PM
“@Spinyhedgehog 28th Dec 5.44
I assume you didn't read past the first line of my post or are playing immature web forum games.
If you had bothered you would realise that whether it is convenient for one specific individual or even small minority groups is irrelevant. It doesn't matter what is convenient for me or for bus users or for cyclists.
Such a venue must get enough people through the doors on a regular basis all year round to generate the profits required to attract investors.
If you don't have a car in the 21st century then yes you are a screwed on a regular basis. I can get the violins out if it makes you feel better but that won't make a business like this profitable and sustainable. Cry all you like, the financial reality won't change.
Wake up! Put your business head on. We need large numbers of people to use the facility all year round. We need people that are prepared to spend their disposable income (and have that money in the first place) on leisure activities such as this on a regular basis.
Who are those people? Do your market research. What other leisure activities are competing with an ice rink for their money? How do you attract those customers, what are their expectations?
Actually lets stop talking theoretically. Lets look at the facts. What do these people do now? I will tell you.
They get in their cars and conveniently drive to out of town cinemas and bowling alleys instead of going Ice Skating. It isn't because they don't like skating; as someone else pointed out the Malls ice rink was jam packed. The people of Bristol want to skate, they (the majority with the money to spend) just can't be ****d to get into Bristol centre by car as it is so unwelcoming and inconvenient.
As much as you loath these car dependent people, you need to accept that their money is the key to retaining an Ice Rink in the Bristol area. Sure you might struggle getting to their rink on your push bike/bus but an out of town rink is easier to get to than no rink at all....”
by ogeron
Sunday, January 29 2012, 7:36AM
“This is all about money? Of course it is, and why not? The only reason that the ice rink was built in the first place was to make money; it wasn't provided as some sort of public service.”