Inside the wrecked Sobell ice rink earlier this year

TWO companies are looking at running an ice rink at the Sobell Centre – as skaters continue their bid to stop the flood-hit hall being turned into a play area.

Planet Ice and Ozone Ice Rink are in talks with Islington Council, which runs the facility in tandem with contractors Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL), to potentially take over the rink.

The rink was devastated after a Thames Water main burst which swamped the centre and the surrounding area last August.

According to figures from the council and GLL, the rink had been operating at a £250,000 loss per year, presenting a financial barrier to its reopening. The council’s plans to replace the rink with a “mega-adventure” play area have now been put to public consultation.

“A third party running the rink would remove the financial risk from the council’s point of view,” said Jonathan Duff, a Sobell figure skater and campaigner to save the rink.

“They wouldn’t be liable for the ongoing costs that are at the centre of their argument. If they show them they don’t have to take that risk, and they could actually make money by renting out the rink to a third party, that would be great.”

He added: “The rink is a really important asset. In a city where there are 200-plus soft plays available, why change a sporting facility into soft play when that’s already in the community?”

Planet Ice run 15 rinks in England, including centres in Hemel Hempstead and Milton Keynes.

Heath Rhodes, chief operating officer of Planet Ice, says the company would be “interested” in taking over the rink, but talks are at a very early stage.

“We haven’t discussed the financing of the rink at this stage,” he said. “We met, gave our personal expression of interest. We extended an invite for them to come and have a look at one of our similar buildings, which they are going to do, and I hope more positive conversations come from that.”

Karen Coombes, a figure-skating coach at Sobell, said: “We don’t care who’s running it, we just want our rink back.”

Ozone has a centre in Bracknell, and said it wanted to comment but then did not respond to several phone calls and attempts to reach the company yesterday (Thursday).

Labour health lead councillor Nurullah Turan said: “Alongside GLL, we have carefully considered the future of the centre’s ice rink and have come to the difficult decision to propose to not reopen this facility.

“This is a genuine consultation, and we’re open to all feedback – including on the ice rink.

“That’s why we’ve met with both Ozone and Planet Ice, to discuss the future of the ice rink and potential alternative business operating models, to see if these could address the challenges associated with reopening the Sobell ice rink.”

He added: “These discussions are at an early stage, and clearly there are significant challenges involved – but we’re committed to continuing these discussions.

“Any decision on the ice rink would reflect both the feedback received during our public consultation, and whether the challenges of rebuilding the rink can be overcome.”