I FEEL compelled to write to give your readers and commentators accurate and up-to-date information about the progress Bournemouth Council has made to facilitate the provision of a permanent ice facility for Bournemouth.

We know that the King’s Park ice stadium proposal has received strong public support and we have led from the start to bring this development forward.

I was pleased to see that your online article provided a link for your readers to see the council’s planning application, which was subsequently approved, so granting outline planning consent for a permanent ice facility at King’s Park.

Far from plans being in “meltdown”, we are well on track to inviting potential operators to come forward with their proposals. It is irresponsible and misleading to suggest otherwise as that will undermine confidence in Bournemouth for any available investment.

The leisure development market is currently severely depressed across the UK and there has been much commentary on your website about ice rinks being unattractive as viable leisure attractions. It is absolutely essential that we approach the market at the right time to gain the best chance of attracting a developer with the right credentials to deliver the facility we all want to see.

To have done so any sooner would, I am certain, have resulted in disappointment. Far from losing the interest of developers, it is their interest that we need to attract.

As with any large and detailed public contract, we are legally obliged to follow European procurement rules which means there is a set process and timeframe for advertising and selecting a suitable contractor. We will be doing this, as planned, over the next few months and hope that this will lead to a development agreement towards the end of the year.

We have done everything we said we would do to bring the ice stadium forward and it is now a question of whether a private sector operator can obtain funding to build the facility.

We all need to work together and the council will continue to do everything possible to bring an ice stadium to King’s Park for residents and visitors to Bournemouth.

CLLR JOHN BEESLEY, Deputy Leader, Bournemouth Council