Cheltenham Ice rink to return despite environmental concerns

An ice rink will return to a Gloucestershire town this Christmas despite environmental concerns.

Run by S3K Group, the ice rink will visit Imperial Gardens, Cheltenham, from 17 November until New Year's Day.

However, approved by Cheltenham Borough Council, concerns have been raised over plans to use biofuel generators to power it.

Local resident, Peter Grimley, opposed the plans and said "the scheme will burn more than 30,000 litres of fuel".

Speaking at a planning committee meeting on 21 September, Mr Grimley disputed the claim that the hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) generators would improve CO2 emissions by 86%.

"When HVO is burned it releases this CO2. So the carbon absorbed by the feedstock probably in South East Asia is then released into Imperial Square," he said.

"Outdoor ice rinks in temperate zones like Cheltenham require huge amounts of power. The only acceptable way to supply this amount of power is via the grid. Your decision last year was correct.

Several councillors raised concerns during the meeting over the potential use of palm oil in the biofuel.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Councillor Bernie Fisher moved to reject the proposals and said: "Biodiesel is greenwashing. I think we should refuse this."

Meanwhile, Councillor Simon Wheeler criticised the council for delays in installing an electric power supply at the parks.

However, Councillor Tony Oliver, disagreed and said while he accepted "all the environmental arguments", the ice rink was greatly missed last year.

"Yes we should have a power source there but I do think for the economic good of the town we need this to keep Cheltenham vibrant at Christmas. It's an important and difficult time for people and the economy generally," he added.

Chairman Paul Baker said he didn't think the committee should underestimate the importance of the ice rink to the town and "thousands of families and children" would visit the attraction this Christmas.

"There are serious implications to not supporting this application. Really, really serious," he added.

He also said he was really disappointed that the council had "not got its act together" and not installed the electric supply needed at Imperial Gardens.

The committee rejected calls to refuse planning permission and approved the scheme by seven votes to one.

Organisers of the ice rink, which attracted 43,000 skaters to the town in 2021, said they will put in place new measures to reduce the environmental impact of the rink and to reduce the noise of the generator.

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