The Sobell Centre’s rink was closed after a flood

A CONFIDENTIAL email from the Labour group office advised the council had to “at least make it look like we are listening” to campaigners who are trying to get an ice rink restored.

Now, the Town Hall stands accused of running a sham consultation over the future of the flood-hit Sobell Centre in Holloway, which could be turned into “a mega-adventure soft play centre” rather than put back the way it was.

A consultation started in May is meant to be listening to residents’ feedback but skaters say they have found evidence the process is already tilted against them.

They obtained emails relating to the centre under Freedom of Information (FOI) and are focusing on a message sent by Charlie Rainsford, the head of the Labour group’s office and an adviser to Islington Council leader Kaya Comer-Schwartz.

In an email to several recipients, he said: “Of course, we need to go ahead with the soft play option, but we need to at least make it look like we are listening.

“This needs to be reflected in the comms.

“If we go out with the current PR, we will face a backlash from backbench councillors (and residents), including those locally to Sobell and that will make it extremely difficult for us to go ahead with what we want.”

He went on to say: “Additionally, I have said on a number of occasions that we need to line up parent groups, schools, [and] young people, to champion these plans on our behalf, otherwise we will create a vacuum where the only people who we hear from are ice rink users and will whip up another storm. Has this been done? Has anyone spoken to Children’s Services?”

As anger grew over the revelation of the email’s existence, the council said that the message was being read out of context and Islington had always been clear that it thought the best way forward would be a new soft-play centre.

Madeleine Beasley, a Sobell figure skater and ice rink campaigner, said: “The leaked email is them confessing, ‘We’re just doing this [consultation] because we’ve got to look like we’re listening.’ They’re not listening, they’ve already made the decision. They’re targeting schools, children’s services, and youth groups to support their idea. They aren’t interested in the communities and the groups that do want the ice.”

Sobell campaigner Madeleine Beasley on the ice

She added: “It’s such a farce. We want a longer consultation, a better consultation. We’re not denying that the rink needed attention. But it would make money if we got the right promotion, the advertisements. We’re not denying that major changes have to be made, but we want the opportunity to make that change.”

The Tribune has been contacted by Labour councillors concerned by the content of the email, including one who said: “Like the vast majority of Islington councillors, I was shocked to read the contents of the email about hoodwinking local residents and Labour councillors about the future plans of the Sobell Leisure Centre.”

Benali Hamdache, the leader of the borough’s Green group, said: “At the full council executive meeting, when the council announced they were going to be consulting on the future of Sobell, I said that I was disappointed that the consultation seemed to be so one-sided. I was really disappointed that it seemed like Islington Council weren’t listening to the ideas and thoughts residents had about the future of the ice rink.

“I was told that it wasn’t the case, but the FOI shows it was true. Labour colleagues were emailing each other saying they need to give the appearance they were listening while going towards a pre-determined decision.”

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “While the issue is yet to be decided upon, and the council will keep an open mind, the proposal to not reinstate the ice rink comes partly because of the huge cost of doing so.

“Like councils up and down the country, we’re facing huge financial challenges from the cost of living crisis, the rise in energy prices, and more than a decade of austerity. Reinstating the ice rink would come at a huge cost, which poses a significant challenge given the financial difficulties the council faces.”

They added: “The out-of-context email exchanges that have been released relate to full and frank discussions about how local people and Sobell users could have the greatest say in the options available, while recognising the huge challenges associated with reinstating the ice rink.

“Following these discussions – which took place before the consultation began – the council decided to have a fuller consultation, which included the option of retaining the ice rink, so that it could better understand people’s views before taking a final decision.

“The council has made no secret of the fact that it considered the case for not reinstating the ice rink to be an extremely strong one, such that it would take a lot to lead it to now take a different course and reinstate the ice rink.

“While the chances of that occurring appear at present to be slim, it is right that the council consults, listens and takes all views into account, before making a final decision.”