The company that operates Basingstoke's ice rink has hit back at the council after it suggested they would take legal action to force repairs.

Planet Ice's chief operating officer, Heath Rhodes, told The Gazette that the company is meeting their obligations to keep the rink in good repair.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, which owns the leisure park land, leases the ice rink to Standard Securities, who in turn have an occupational lease to Planet Ice, the operators.

BDBC say both leases require the firms to keep the facility in "good and substantial repair", and they can take legal action to force them to do so.

As reported yesterday, Cllr John Izett confirmed the council had ordered a survey of the ice rink, assessing its condition, and threatening to take legal action "to get the repairs carried out".

It followed news that Standard Securities had put the lease on the market for £2.4 million.

Now, Mr Rhodes has said his firm are meeting all of its obligations, and asked for certainty over the future of the leisure park.

Speaking to The Gazette, he said: "The problem with this is that there are underlying bigger issues. An investment that we make could go into quite a lot of money, and that is the reason we have been talking to the council.

“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].

"That has been completely overlooked in this. Making these repairs is determined on what is the plan for the park. It would be interesting for us to know the future of the leisure park."

BDBC has partnered with New River Retail to turn the leisure park, also home to Hollywood Bowl, the aquadrome and iFly, into a retail park as part of a £300 million redevelopment - although the council leader said earlier in the summer that the plans could not come forward in that form.

It is not known whether there will be space for the ice rink to remain as part of those plans.

When asked whether Cllr Izett threatening legal action was undermining discussion between the three parties, Mr Rhodes said: "I don’t know the answer to that. What we have always tried to avoid is chucking rubbish over the fence at each other because that doesn’t help."

He continued: "At this time, it is not for Planet Ice to make comment on the sale of the building. If Standard Securities want to exercise their right to explore the sale of the building, then that is their prerogative.

"Planet Ice could not further any comments on that subject as it is a matter for Standard Securities.

"Planet Ice will continue to have quarterly checks on the building by their appointed and independent structural engineers of which the results will be fed back to BDBC.

"This process has been on-going for a few years, throughout the last 18 months of lockdown, and will continue.

"Planet Ice have already made some alterations as advised and continue with preparations to address further observations and requirements prior to the start of the Ice Hockey season.

"We will continue to service the building as long as it remains viable. Planet Ice feels that the council has a shared objective in financing the repairs to the building.”

He said they put together a proposal two years ago asking the council, the building’s owner, to make a contribution to repairs but were refused by Cllr Izett, as "it was not something they thought was in the interests of the general public".