THE future of Basingstoke’s ice rink hangs in the balance as it has been put up for sale with a £2.4million price tag.

Home to ice hockey team the Bison and with a 2,000-seater stadium, Planet Ice has been a popular tourist attraction, entertaining thousands since it opened in 1988.

But a public row between its owner Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and current tenants over who is responsible to pay for repairs has seen the lease put up for sale, casting doubt over the future of winter sports in the town. 

Standard Securities, which holds a 150-year lease from the council, and operators Planet

Ice have been under pressure to pay for urgent repairs after a permafrost build up underneath the rink’s pad. 

However, sources say the firm is reluctant to invest in repairing the stadium if it is set to be knocked down in a few years time as part of the borough council’s £300 million project to develop the Leisure Park.

Heath Rhodes, chief operating officer at Planet Ice and responsible for day-to-day runnings at the rink, told The Gazette: “We don’t know what is happening to the Leisure Park. To make an investment that would cost quite a lot of money [would be a risk].”

In a press release, the borough council doubled-down on its responsibility as landlord of the rink, announcing that it would be carrying out a survey to assess any necessary repair works and threatened taking legal action to force the tenants to carry it out if necessary. An alternative option could see the rink closed down. 

Sally Cashman, chair of the ice rink users’ forum, said she was “surprised, disappointed and worried” at the news. 

But the council has poured cold water over the idea of buying their tenant out of their lease, claiming “residents would [not] support us bailing out the companies involved with public money to make up for their lack of investment in an asset”.

Cllr John Izett, cabinet member for finance and major projects, said: “It is disappointing that it has come to this but we can see no other course of action. We had hoped that through negotiations we could find a way for them to carry out the repair works.”

You can read the full story in this week’s edition of The Gazette. Also in this week's paper:

  • A Basingstoke army veteran who served in Afghanistan says he has been left “shocked” by the desperate scenes this week, which showed residents plunging to their deaths after clinging to military aircrafts in a bid to escape the Taliban.
  • One of the 17 life-sized hogs created as part of a free art trail around Basingstoke has been vandalised just days after going on display when its tail was broken off. 
  • A jealous man who stabbed his ex-wife after finding out she was in a new relationship has been jailed for four years. 
  • Hundreds of people dressed as superheroes took to the streets of Basingstoke to raise money for St Michael’s Hospice. 
  • Controversial plans to build four houses off Pyotts Hill have been refused after councillors raised concerns that a nearby monument would be “destroyed”.
  • A Basingstoke war hero protesting outside Downing Street has been taken to hospital.
  • The borough council has thanked a charity for its patience after their planter caused a flood at their shop. 
  • A councillor has called on residents in Kings Furlong to ‘make their feelings known’ as part of a consultation on plans for a 23-bed homeless accommodation facility on Culver Road.
  • PLUS: All the latest from Basingstoke Magistrates' Court.
  • Two pages of your letters to the editor.
  • Pictures: GCSE joy at Basingstoke schools
  • The latest news from our communities.
  • An eight-page puzzle special.
  • Business news.
  • Three pages of entertainment news.
  • Four pages of sports news. And much more!

To arrange a home delivery of the Gazette or Advertiser call 0800 7314 900 or 0845 7078 150 or email deliveries@newsquest.co.uk. If we do not cover your area, we will advise you with details of other available agents.

If you live outside our circulation area you can still receive our newspapers through a postal subscription order. To subscribe to the Basingstoke Gazette or Andover Advertiser visit basingstokegazette.co.uk/subscribe or andoveradvertiser.co.uk/subscribe or call 0800 7314900. You can also sign up for a delivered subscription here: https://adbooker.andoveradvertiser.co.uk/store/andbassubs/.