Is council going cold on ice rink? (From Bournemouth Echo)

Is council going cold on ice rink?

8:00am Thursday 26th November 2009

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I always seem to get myself into hot water when it comes to highlighting the kind of wet weather facilities the town centre desperately needs – Imax cinema, swimming pool etc etc – and the past and future provision of ice skating facilities is one potato that’s certainly rising in temperature.

The offical line on the proposed ice rink is that there is currently more than one organisation expressing an interest in establishing one in King’s Park.

Independent councillor Ron Whittaker’s line is somewhat more jaundiced.

The crusader for skating facilities is starting to think that maybe the council’s heart isn’t in the project, despite the relative success of temporary ice rinks in the town over the past few years.

I have to say I like ice rinks.

I grew up very close to one of the very best and rather than take my first dates to the cinema, I would always take them to Altrincham Ice Rink where they would spend the evening regularly falling into my arms.

In the Hollywood film Field Of Dreams, the leading character was told: “Build it and they will come.”

As this town’s history tells us, creating an ice rink doesn’t necessarily mean people will flock to it forever.

So while Cllr Whittaker’s voice may be insistent, I think it would help the cause if a few more voices were raised in support.

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