25.01.19
Mansfield District Council makes £81k loss on ‘vanity project’ Christmas ice rink attraction
A ‘winter wonderland ice rink’ opened in the centre of Mansfield has made a loss of more than £80,000, according to figures from its council.
At a full meeting of Mansfield District Council on Wednesday, members of the authority’s Labour party questioned executive mayor Kate Allsop’s decision to open an ice rink in the town centre for the first time, reports the Mansfield Chad.
The Chad reported that the ice rink cost a total of more than £137,000 for the 31 days it was in place in the town centre – from 30 November to 31 December – with sponsorships from One Call Insurance, Four Seasons, and other organisations totalling just under £20,000.
Despite the skating rink making £25,527 in ticket sales and a slight increase in car parking receipts adding around £8,000 to the overall revenue of the attraction, the council faces an overall net cost of the ice rink to be £81,182.
At the full council meeting, mayor executive Allsop defended the ice rink, arguing that all initiatives start smaller, and then “have to grow to reach their full potential.”
Allsop said: “The ice rink is being fully evaluated to assess its impact and benefit to the town centre and trading. Early signs show there was an £8,000 (4%) increase in car park income and an additional 7,000 visitors on the same period last year.
“If attracting more people into the town centre and supporting local businesses are the goals, then I think we have achieved that. All initiatives start smaller and they have to grow to reach their full potential.
“The council and its partners will continue to consider ways in which we can support the town centre, businesses and create opportunities for local people during these challenging retail trading conditions.”
Yet The Chad reported that Labour councillors condemned the figures, with Cllr Andy Wetton, member for Meden, arguing that nearby was Meden and Warsop was forced to close to save the council £80,000.
“It seems ironic now that the council has just lost the same £80,000 figure on the ice rink,” he said.
“It’s a shame the people of Warsop have suffered to save £80,000 for the sake of a one month vanity project that we now need to claw back.”
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