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Labour puts Ice Rink Plans back on Ice
November 3, 2009 10:05 AM
Crucial plans for a brand new Swimming Pool and state-of-the-art Ice Arena in Streatham currently look about as precariously balanced as some of the Olympic Ice Dance Champions Torvill and Dean's riskier manoeuvres.
Tesco, owners of the Ice Rink and neighbouring Bus Depot site, secured planning consent way back in 2003 to build a brand new leisure centre incorporating a new regional sized ice rink and replacement gym, swimming pool, a new supermarket, flats and a bus layover close to Streatham Station.
The deal was dependent on keeping continuous skating at the existing rink built way back in the 1930s until the new facilities opened. Tesco would then be allowed to knock down the old building to commence construction of their new store.
Since then despite various well-publicized attempts by Labour Council Leader Steve Reed to big it all up by announcing that work was about to start, the reality is that the scent has gone completely cold. Then Tesco threw the whole project into the deep freeze when they sacked their South East regeneration team last Spring.
Both sides are now said to be holding crisis talks amid great secrecy but at a recent public meeting Tesco conceded that it actually wants to renegotiate the whole deal citing the downturn in the housing market.
Neither side will publicly commit to continuity of the Ice Rink, which is absolutely vital if this unique Streatham facility is to have any future. If the existing Ice Rink is torn down what guarantees are there that a replacement will ever be forthcoming?
Liberal Democrats even put down a Motion to Council calling on the Council to consider using its Compulsory Purchase Powers if talks break down. Labour rather tellingly failed to support this.
Why? It would have sent a clear message to Tesco and the long-suffering residents of Streatham that they were serious about providing a new Leisure Centre - with or without the support of the UK's most profitable grocer.
Meanwhile Liberal Democrats have launched a petition to keep continuity of Ice provision in Streatham high on the agenda.
We hope that everyone with an interest in keeping alive the dream of a first class Leisure Centre in Streatham and re-providing much needed facilities for young people in the area will sign it and send Labour-run Lambeth and Tesco a resounding message that they mess with that aspiration at their peril.
The petition is at http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/icerink