Do festive ice rinks help skating all-year round?

Pop-up ice rinks have appeared in towns and cities across the country, but do these festive sites have an impact on year-round skating?

There are fewer than 60 permanent ice rinks in the whole of the UK and only five across the south, including two in Hampshire, two in Berkshire and one in Oxfordshire.

The permanent rinks cost a lot of money to run, as keeping the ice frozen all year uses a lot of energy, but provide venues for sports such as ice hockey and figure skating.

Owners of pop-up ice rinks say they can save money on full-time equivalents by splitting costs across their whole operations such as food stalls, rides and and other attractions.

Billy Williams, Managing Director, Reading's Winter Wonderland, said his pop-up ice rink saves money by splitting costs across the whole event including other rides and stalls.

He said: "There's not one power supply just for the ice rink, we share everything so it's split, so we could lose the power costings on the rides or other equipment."

Permanent ice rinks were often partially funded by local councils, but high energy bills meant some were shut down to save money, which is why more rinks today are privately funded.

Mr Williams said: "If they close an ice rink they know they're going to save a fortune in power, straightaway, as soon as they flick that switch they're saving money"

The temporary rinks may offer a cheaper alternative to the permanent venues over the festive period but for skating enthusiasts like ice hockey player Hannah Driver, the lack of full-time rinks is a big inconvenience.

She needs a venue which is open all-year round to train for her sport or for fellow figure-skaters.

She used to play at the indoor ice rink in Basingstoke, which is currently closed for refurbishment.

This means she now has to travel nearly 50 miles (80km) to her nearest ice rink in Gosport to play.

"We're under the impression that it's only going to be closed for a few months but we don't know the extent of the damage just yet," Ms Driver said.

She said she has not been able to see her ice hockey friends during this closure.

Matt Foord, from Ozone Ice Rink, in Bracknell said the ice at his site needs to be chilled 24/7.

"Energy costs are just extortionate, especially with energy prices going up but then there's hidden costs, like things like staffing costs and maintaining the building," he said.

Mr Foord described the pop-up rinks as "a double-edged sword".

He said they help to generate interest in ice skating but around Christmas time "they can take skaters away from us".

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