£10m Ice rink plans for Southampton

Having submitted a previous proposal for an Olympic-sized rink in the heart of the city, complete with conference facilities and accommodation, developer Colin Warburg has scaled down the plans and is now on the verge of submitting a £10m project for one of the city’s most deprived wards.

St Mary’s is set to be the home of the new 850-seater ice rink complex that will house a 56 metres by 26 metres rink, a cafe, a restaurant, a gym and a number of retail outlets.

The rink, which could create up to 200 jobs, could also become home to a city-based ice hockey team and provide a home for figure skaters.

The site is where Chantry Hall stood before it was burnt down by arsonists.

Mr Warburg, a Southamptonbased developer who owns Warburg Property Development, said: “An ice rink in Southampton has been a long time coming.

“This time we do not have to acquire the land and there are good transport links to the proposed site. We have had positive feedback and the signs are good.”

Mr Warburg said research showed the rink was financially viable, despite the temporary ice rink held in the city over Christmas 2008 making a loss, and the failure to secure the return of the rink in 2009.

“I estimate we would attract around 250,000 people a year.

Research shows that around 65 per cent of people who go to ice rinks are under 25, and with two univ e r s i - ties in the city and a large population we have the market there.”

A public consultation has been launched and those interested can register their views online.

Public meetings are being held on January 21 at St Mary’s Church, St Mary’s Street, from 4pm to 5.30pm and 6pm to 7.30pm.

Bob Kendal, of Southampton Ice Dance and Figure S k a t i n g Club, said: “Any plan to bring a permanent ice rink to the city is fantastic, but we have been led up this path a few times now.”

If plans are approved the rink could open by the end of 2011.

Welcoming the proposal, Councillor John Hannides, executive member for leisure, culture and heritage, said: “We will offer every support and help to any application from a private company that believes they can make it a commercially viable business.”

Ice Rink Facts

■ The Top Rank ice rink closed its doors in 1988. Since then plans for a replacement have never got off the ground.

■ In July 2007 Southampton City Council threw out plans for an £80m ice skating complex with conference facilities and a 28-storey apartment block.

■ The administration felt the plans didn’t stack up and were not prepared to sell off the councilowned land as part of the deal.

■ Mr Warburg subsequently acquired the Chantry Hall site, originally intending to develop it as a youth facility, but the building was destroyed by arsonists.

■ Permission was later granted for a flats development on an adjacent plot that Mr Warburg also owned.

But when he cleared both sites he realised the potential to revive the ice rink plans across the land.