An application to install an ice rink in Cheltenham’s Imperial Gardens throughout the festive season of 2019 has been delayed until at least 2020.
Cheltenham BID had hoped to build a series of temporary structures, including an ice rink for two months of the year around Christmastime. But the group – which supports Cheltenham’s businesses and festivals – says it has amended its application, delaying it until either 2020 or 2021 to ensure ‘everything is in place to do it properly.’
People living near to Imperial Gardens and the Friends of Imperial Square and Gardens had raised complaints to Cheltenham Borough Council’s planning team about the application.
The group was unhappy about the application because the space would be used for 75 days in addition to its current permission for festivals and special events. Correspondence said that the group was ‘firmly of the opinion that an extra 75 days intrusion of Imperial Gardens is a gross misuse of a vital public green space in pursuit of commercial gain.’
Kevan Blackadder from Cheltenham BID told SoGlos that the application is likely to be taken to planning again later in 2019.
