Streatham Ice Skating Action Group

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(*) Updated 12.09.14

For the most recent news see Campaign News. For the previous section of the archive see Campaign News - Archive Y. This page contains the oldest items. See below for news on:

Update on the negotiations (added 30.5.04)

Council Executive July 12th (added 30.5.04)

GLA Candidates visit rink (added 30.5.04)

Time Out Article 10th March (added 10.3.04)

Planning Applications Committee 10th Feb (added 23.2.04)

Streatham Area Committee 4th Feb (added 23.2.04)

Stakeholders Group (updated 10.3.04)

SISAG in radio interview (added 25.5.03)

Negotiations on several fronts (added 25.5.03)

Mayor's office has reservations (added 25.5.03)

SISAG event on Red Nose Day (added 3.3.03)

Planning consent granted (added 23.2.03)

Planners report available - meeting is on 18th February (updated 16.2.03)

Site visit 11th January (added 12.1.03)

Streatham skaters shine at home and abroad (updated 4.1.03)

Planning application revisions (added 3.12.02)

New rink management from 9th December (updated 4.1.03)

Planning application consultation (updated 8.11.02)

Streatham skaters in Junior International (added 23.9.02)

Exhibition of Tesco proposals (updated 23.9.02)

New planning application including rink (updated 12.9.02)

Tesco agrees to work with Lambeth (added 18.7.02)

STIR - new umbrella campaign group (updated 18.7.02)

Lease extended - rink stays open

Lambeth Council Resolution

Stanthorpe Residents Protest

SISAG Meeting with councillors

Town Centre Meeting 12th March

Lambeth Consultation on UDP

Definitely open until August

Recent Media Coverage (updated 6.5.02)

Site sold to Tesco

Exhibition about council's proposals

Streatham skaters succeed at British Championships!

Residents get 1800 signatures!

Tesco Planning Application - The Text

Update on negotiations

Negotiations between the London Borough of Lambeth and Tesco are in their concluding stages. The Section 106 agreement (the legal agreement to accompany the planning permission) has many components because of the complex nature of the scheme, but all areas are close to agreement, including the conditions that ensure continuity of ice skating provision. Lambeth lawyers have met with GLA lawyers on the legal agreement and have been advised that the GLA lawyer was fully satisfied with the robustness of the Agreement.

Lambeth met the GLA on 15 March From this meeting several actions were required to provide GLA officers with further information, including details of alternative swimming provision during the interim period and costing for the affordable housing. Lambeth has complied with these requests.

Lambeth had a meeting with the London Development Agency to apprise them of the leisure funding. Their understanding is that the LDA understood the approach and considered the scheme 'very do-able' and now the norm for funding such provision

The council's leisure consultants PMP are to be invited to City Hall to do a full presentation and discussion with the GLA Plannning Advisers, TfL and the LDA together.

Sport England funding has been under suspension for eighteen months. Priorities, criteria and forms are emerging this month (May). The application for this scheme is ready.

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Council Executive July 12th

The Council Executive will consider the issues of Land Exchange and Leisure Funding in their meeting on July 12th 2004.

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GLA Candidates visit rink

Several GLA Candidates visited the rink on 22nd/23rd May and spoke to campaigners, rink users, councillors and representatives of PMP (the council's leisure consultants. [More details to be inserted]

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Time Out Article 10th March

There was an article by Hugh Graham in Time Out Magazine (Issue 1751, March 10-17 2004) about London's dwindling ice rinks, featuring the Streatham and Richmond campaigns, including a picture of the Streatham rink. The article, entitled "Frozen assets, is by Hugh Graham.

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Planning Applications Committee 10th Feb

The Lambeth Planning Applications Committee (PAC) met on 10th February 2004. A report was presented by planning officers on progress in the negotiations for the Section 106 agreement, with recommendations for the approach to be taken for the rest of the negotiations. The report can be found on Lambeth's website http://www.lambeth.gov.uk . The PAC accepted the recommendations in full. The next steps are for the issues of land exchange and leisure funding to be considered by the Council Executive. The expected date for this is 5th April 2004.

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Streatham Area Committee 4th Feb

The Lambeth Streatham Area Committee (SAC) met on 4th February 2004. A report on the Tesco planning application and the Streatham Hub was presented.

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Stakeholders Group

A Stakeholders Group has been established, to be consulted during the procurement and development process for the new leisure facilities. The group includes representatives from SISAG, the swimming club, the youth club, residents' associations and is attended by councillors, town centre representatives and representatives of the leisure department. There have been three meetings of the Stakeholders Group so far.

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SISAG in radio interview

SISAG chair Nicola Hale has been invited to talk about the rink on the Robert Elms show on BBC London 94.9FM on bank holiday Monday 29th May. The item is scheduled for 1.40 p.m.

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Negotiations on several fronts

Since Ken Livingstone's decision to halt the plan until his reservations were met, negotiations are in progress on various issues.

Negotiations between Tesco and Lambeth to set up a public-private partnership (PPP) for the leisure centre are ongoing.

Leisure consultants PMP are preparing a bid for Sport England funding. As part of this process they held a meeting with skating coaches and clubs about sports development plans.

There are negotiations with Transport for London about the bus layover. If they insist on a replacement layover before the bus garage is demolished, this would mean the loss of the swimming pool for about 16 months. If, however, the buses could be temporarily re-routed, it might be possible to ensure continuity for the pool as well as for the ice rink.

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Mayor's office has reservations

After Lambeth council decided that they were minded to approve planning permission, the application was referred to the Mayor of London. In a letter dated 12th March 2003 he refused permission on the grounds that there was not a sufficiently robust demonstration of continuity in the sport and recreation facilities, and that there was not enough affordable housing . Whilst not a reason for refusal, he also noted that the proposed car parking provision is in excess of guidelines.

This refusal is not final. The letter states: "I would be prepared to reconsider my direction to refuse planning permission in this case on receipt of satisfactory details, including a robust financial appraisal of the cost of providing the replacement ice/leisure facility and the funding available to deliver this at the site, and which demonstrates that the replacement and upgraded ice rink/leisure centre will be constructed and opened prior to any other element of the proposed scheme. In addition, I would need to receive sufficient legal and other assurances from the Council and the applicant that no demolition of any of the existing facilities takes place without the appropriate funding for the replacement facilities being obtained and a contract let for the construction of the new ice rink/leisure centre."

Negotiations are now taking place to assure the funding and provide appropriate assurances to the Mayor's office.

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SISAG event on Red Nose Day

SISAG, with with kind permission of Starburst Ltd, are proud to present Hair Raising Skates. On Friday 14 March at the Junior Disco between 6.00pm and 8.00pm we are staging a hair raising event for Comic Relief. For £1.00 each we will be painting faces red and spraying and gelling hair to get as many wild looking skaters on the ice as possible. Our coaches and skaters will be staging hockey demonstrations and show numbers throughout the disco and there will be fun and games for all. The Ice Rink Management have agreed to donate 50p for everyone who attends and we will donate a further 50p for every person who wears red.

This is a flyer for the event.

We want to show that Streatham Ice Arena is alive and kicking and working hard for good causes. So please get your skates on, have fun and help us raise lots of dosh for Comic Relief.

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Planning consent granted

The planning committee meeting took place on 18th February 2003. It started at 7.30 p.m. and went on until 1a.m! Among other things, the continuity of the swimming pool became a big issue, and for a while it looked as if the application would fail because of that. In the event, consent was approved, subject to section 106 and conditions, by a vote of 5 to 2.

The section 106 agreement will impose obligations for continuity of ice rink provision:

No development to take place on the ice rink land until the leisure facility has been constructed, fitted out and completed to the reasonable satisfaction of the Council and the leisure centre is in a state suitable for use by the public.

The existing ice rink to be kept open at current levels of operation until completion etc. of the leisure centre.

As mentioned above, continuity of the swimming pool was hotly debated at the planning meeting. There will not be continuous operation of the pool, but a condition has been added so that the swimming pool cannot be demolished until the financing of the replacement leisure cntre has been secured and contract for works are in place. This should guarantee that the replacement pool is built, but there is an expected gap in provision of 16 months.

As a result of SISAG's letter, the condition on the leisure centre hours was changed to:

(a) The leisure centre use hereby permitted shall not operate otherwise between the hours of 7.00am and 11.00pm daily for general public skating.

(b) The leisure centre use hereby permitted shall not operate otherwise than between the hours of 5.30am and 2.00am daily for sports development skating.

SISAG chair Nicola Hale was able to speak in general support of the scheme, and to say we had some concerns about the detailed design and that a stakeholder group should be established for consultation, and that time was of the essence to get on with applying for Sport England funding.

The granting of planning permission is a big milestone, but there is still a long way to go. The approval is subject to referral to the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State and there is a lot of work to establish the PPP and funding for the leisure centre. On the bright side, it is clearly in Tesco's interests for this to happen as soon as possible, because they cannot build their store without it.

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Planners report available - meeting is on 18th February

The planning application will be considered at a special planning applications meeting on 18th February 2003. The meeting will be held in public and in Streatham (St Leonards Church), starting at 7.30 p.m.

The planners report is now available on the Lambeth website http://www.lambeth.gov.uk Go to 'Democracy @ Lambeth', then 'Meetings diary'. Find the Planning Applications Committee meeting (18th Feb, 7.30 p.m. St Leonards Church) and there are links to 'Associated Documents'. The main recommendation of the report is

"to grant planning permission for the proposed development subject to referral to the Mayor of London, conditions of consent, a Section 106 Agreement and a Section 278 Agreement."

There are several mentions of the importance of continuity of ice rink provision in the report. For example

"6.2.6 . The applicant has agreed to phase the development in such a way that the proposed leisure centre would be constructed at an early stage. Such phasing would be secured by condition associated with any permission granted. Continuity of the ice rink is considered a particularly important aspect of granting planning permission for redevelopment of the site. A number of objections have been raised in respect of re-provision of the leisure facilities and many people are concerned that the proposed leisure facility would not be built. It is considered that this essential component of the scheme can be secured in a legal agreement which would result in the proposed leisure facilities being constructed and operational before the existing rink is closed down."

The Section 106 agreement describes obligations have been agreed with the applicants in order to mitigate the impact of the scheme. Further negotiations are continuing on a number of detailed matters including the precise value of a number of contributions. The results of these negotiations will be reported to Members at the Committee meeting. In the proposed Section 106 agreement are two non-contributory obligations on continuity:

"No development to take place on the ice rink land until the leisure facility has been constructed, fitted out and completed to the reasonable satisfaction of the Council and the leisure centre is in a state suitable for use by the public"

"The existing ice rink to be kept open at current levels of operation until completion of the leisure centre in accordance with obligation 1 above."

and a contributory obligation

"Contribution to replacement leisure facility (Figure to be advised to Members at the committee meeting)"

SISAG's main aim is continuity of ice rink provision, and we strongly welcome the above proposed conditions.

We intend to raise two points at the meeting about other conditions in the report.

Condition 2(j) says

"Full details of the following shall be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority before any work on site is commenced ...(j) details of the internal arrangements of the leisure centre. No work on site shall be commenced until the said details have been approved. Reason: In order that the Local Planning Authority shall be satisfied as to the details of the proposal(s)."

We intend to request that a stakeholders group consisting of skaters, swimmers and those with a particular interest be formally constituted to participate in the consultation and approval process.

Condition 8 says

"The leisure centre use hereby permitted shall not operate otherwise between the hours of 7.00am and 11.00pm daily. Reason: To safeguard the amenities of neighbouring residential properties."

We recognise that these times are more than adequate for public use of the facility. However for those skaters who are training for competition or for hockey the times are restrictive. They have traditionally trained in the very early morning between 5.30am and 10.00am and after the rink closes to the public between 10.30pm and 1.30am This is because the public have full access during the day and evening and it is not possible for any serious training to take place during those hours. We intend to request that this be allowed in the conditions.

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Site visit 11th January

As part of the planning process, SISAG and others were invited to attend a site visit on 11th January 2003. Lambeth's guidance on site visits says:

Site visits take place in order to allow Committee and Ward Members an opportunity to view the site and its surroundings. Discussion of the proposal will not take place at this time. Further discussion will occur at the next Committee meeting, and you will be notified of the date. All interested parties are invited to the site visit and it is important that you ensure that Members see how the proposal would affect you.

We were therefore expecting that the visit would only consist of a walk round the site. However, so many people turned up that Councillor Palmer, the chair of the planning committee, took the group into the church and held the first part of the session there - in effect a sort of public meeting on the application lasting about two hours. This was followed by a walk round the site attended by fewer people, to look at some key areas such as the entrance in Natal Road. Our main impressions at the end of the meeting were:

- The planning report is likely to recommend approval with conditions.

- The continuity of ice provision is definitely high on the list of conditions. The issue will be to ensure that it (in combination with the section 106 and the land swap agreement) really guarantees this and doesn't depend on uncertain funding.

- The issues are very complex and many people have legitimate concerns about the plan.

- Although any delay in a Sport England application is undesirable, it is not surprising that the report has been delayed for 4 weeks, given the number of issues being considered.

- The delay is because of conservation and legal matters, not because of lack of support for the ice rink.

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Streatham skaters shine at home and abroad

On Wednesday 4th December , at the British Championships in Dumfries, Streatham skaters Candice Towler-Green and James Phillipson retained the title of British Junior Ice Dance Champions that they won last year. In January 2003 they will compete at the Youth Olympics. Then a few weeks later they will go to the Junior World Championships. We wish them well.

At the British Championships Candice's sister Pippa and her partner Robert Burgerman came 4th in the Senior Ice Dance category. In November they competed at the Pavel Roman Memorial International in the Czech Republic and did extremely well, finishing in 2nd place.

Closer to home, the Streatham Figure Club ran a successful Winter Festival at the rink on Sunday 1st December. This is a competition for local skaters, with categories for single skaters and groups, adults and children. In the Vienna Cup for teams, SISAG chair Nicky Hale, her daughters Eleanor and Lucy and four other children, performed a great 'Star Wars' number that won a well-deserved silver medal. This achievement was extra-special because Lucy is disabled - the transformation of her wheelchair into an R2D2 costume was inspired!

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Planning application revisions

On 26th November, after the responses to the original application (see Planning application consultation below), Tesco submitted some revisions to their plans. These can be viewed at the Planning Office, 10 Acre Lane, or at Streatham Library. The planning department asked for comments on the revisions to be submitted by 17th December.

There are revisions to the window/balcony design of the flats, and the vehicle access has been re-worked. As far as we can see, there are only two changes to the ice rink/leisure centre building:

  • The front canopy of has been redesigned. The summary text says "The design of the leisure centre ... has been developed to express its own individual purpose, and to create a dynamic modern identity. It features a glass 'vertical' blade element internally illuminated with blue light. The cuved glazed canopy could be extended towards Natal Road, on the other side of the blade, should the corner building be removed in the future." There is a sketched artists impression of the new canopy, and the change is reflected in the plans.
  • The ramp at the rear of the building has been removed from the plans. We are inquiring as to how the Zamboni (ice-resurfacing machine) will get in and out of the building.

There are no apparent changes to the internal layout.

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New rink management from 9th December

Tesco have granted a licence to Starburst Ltd, who run Gillingham Ice Bowl, to operate the existing rink from December 9th for a limited period.. Katherine Edwards of Tesco, quoted in the Streatham Guardian, said "This is in line with our promise to keep the rink in continuous use. We took on the new management in response to the wishes of the community and Lambeth Council, who asked for a new rink operator with a proven track record in running ice rinks"

Since the new management took over there have been some improvements, including decorating the foyer and opening the cafe during public sessions. The period has been rather dominated by problems with the Zamboni (ice resurfacing machine), unfortunately inherited by the new management in non-working order. We are hoping these have now been resolved.

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Planning application consultation

Tesco submitted their new planning application on Friday 6th September. The plan includes a new ice rink and leisure centre with a 60x30m ice pad and 1000 seats. 7000 letters were sent to local residents asking for comments on the plans, and the planning office has received more than 200 replies. SISAG has sent a group response, as have the Streatham Society and STIR.

SISAG's submission went into some detail on the capabilities required of the ice rink building., and made reference to the national Planning Policy Guidance (PPG 17), which states that when replacing a sports or recreational facility "The new ... facility should be at least equivalent in terms of size, usefulness, attractiveness and quality". If you would like to see the response document, email us at mail@sisag.org.uk by clicking here

The responses to the consultation are now under consideration by the planning department. We have heard that the application will not be fast-tracked for the December planning meeting, but may be considered in January.

On 26th November, after the responses to the original consultation, Tesco submitted some revisions to the plans. See Planning application revisions above.

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Streatham skaters in Junior International

Streatham's top junior ice dancers Candice Towler-Green and James Phillipson, competed in the Junior Grand Prix International in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, September 12th-15th 2002. The came 6th in the Compulsory Dance section, then moved up to 5th in both the Original Dance and the Free Dance, finishing in 5th place overall. This is a very impressive result at international level. Well done Candice and James!

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Exhibition of Tesco proposals

The new application was submitted on Friday 6th September. Tesco held their own exhibition of the proposals in the United Reform Church, on 19th to 21st September.

The full plans can be viewed as part of the council's consultation (see above).

New planning application including rink

The redrafting of the Tesco plans has happened very quickly and a new planning application was submitted on 6th September 2002. The plans include (from Tesco leaflet)

  • Ice rink with 60x30m ice pad and 1000-seat capacity
  • Leisure centre with two simming pools, fitness cntre, sports hall
  • New Tesco superstore
  • Residential units including affordable housing provision
  • New public square and amenity area by United Reformed Church
  • Facilities making it easier to use public transport
  • Underground parking for Tesco, Leisure Centre and residential
  • Additional ground level private residential parking

Tesco expect a guarantee to have continuous ice skating facility during development to be a condition of planning consent. They are proposing a phased development with the new ice-rink built before the old one demolished and store built.

This looks hopeful from the SISAG viewpoint but there is some concern as to whether 1000 seats are enough. We are waiting for further information.

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Tesco agrees to work with Lambeth

Following several meetings between council officials and Tesco, Tesco have agreed to withdraw their existing planning application for the ice rink site in favour of working together with Lambeth to bring forward the comprehensive redevelopment of the Streatham Hub site, including an ice rink and leisure facility of regional significance. Press releases from Tesco and the council are on Meeting minutes, Press releases etc. It is particularly encouraging, given the aims of SISAG, that the Tesco statement states "One of the aims of the process is to try to maintain the continous use of an ice rink throughout.

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STIR - new umbrella campaign group

At a meeting on 14th May, it was agreed to set up an umbrella group to co-ordinate campaigning about the Ice Rink and the Streatham Hub site. The inaugural meeting was held 17th July 2002. The new group is called STIR (Save the Ice Rink) and is a coalition of SISAG, residents' groups, the Streatham Society and the Streatham Community Forum. It issued a short statement in response to the news from Tesco and Lambeth. For details see Meeting minutes, Press releases etc.

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Lease extended - rink stays open

We have heard unofficially that the previous owner is taking up his options to extend his lease with Tesco - two 4-month extensions will mean the rink stays open under the current management until at least April 2003.

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Lambeth Council Resolution

In a council meeting on 17th April 2002, Lambeth council passed a resolution including an amendment on the rink. The relevant text was:

"This Council also believes in making young people a priority. Council is therefore concerned about the future development of the Streatham Ice Rink. Council is particularly concerned to note that the lease granted to the current operators of the Ice Rink will be reviewed by Tesco at the end of August.

This Council therefore calls on the Council elected on 2nd May 2002 to work with the local community and voluntary groups, and Tesco to protect and develop the use of the Ice Rink in Streatham so that this vital recreational facility is secured for the future use of Lambeth's young people.

In the meantime Council instructs the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council to meet as a matter of urgency with both Tesco and the current management of the Ice Rink to ensure that the Ice Rink stays open after the 31st August 2002. Failing any guarantee of the current management remaining in place the Council should negotiate with Tesco to take over the management of the Ice Rink in association with the Council's leisure centres contractor. To safeguard the longer term future of the Ice Rink the Council instructs the Chief Executive to investigate how the Council could use its compulsory purchase powers to buy the Ice Rink's freehold and thereby protect this vital asset for Lambeth youngsters."

Minutes of council meetings are available on the Lambeth website (see Links).

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Stanthorpe Residents Protest

On Saturday 13th April the Stanthorpe Residents Association organised a protest outside Tesco in Brixton. It was not a picket with any intention to obstruct shoppers - just an effort to let people know that the Ice Rink may be closed, to gain support and to encourage Tesco shoppers to make their views known to Tesco. Photographs and short articles appeared in the South London Presss and Streatham Guardian.

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SISAG Meeting with councillors

SISAG has sometimes been asked by councillors and others whether they could attend our meetings. Minutes of the meetings are available, and we put information on this website, but in general we decline these requests, so as to retain our apolitical stance. However, we want to work with both councillors and council officials, especially in the light of Tesco's acquisition of the rink site, and the council moving forward with its vision for the development of the area. We therefore held a special meeting on 9th April 2002 to provide an opportunity for councillors to meet us, discuss our aims and strategy, share information and make sure we all work together as productively as possible. Several councillors attended and there was useful discussion and sharing of information. A joint meeting with residents and community groups is planned for 14th May.

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Town Centre Meeting 12th March

At theTown Centre Meeting will be on 12th March the future of the ice rink was the main item on the agenda. The results of the stage 2 consultation on the Streatham Hub site were presented, and showed overwhelming local support for retaining an ice rink on the site.

Tom Franklin, leader of Lambeth council spoke about a 2-pronged strategy - to make sure the existing rink does not close, and to move on with the vision outlined in the consultation. The council have allocated £90,000 to help develop a more detailed plan over the next year.

Val Shawcross, GLA member for Lambeth and Southwark, spoke about the Mayor's planning powers. The existing planning application is not complete and has not yet been referred to the GLA. As it stands, the Mayor would have at least 3 strong grounds to refuse: conflict with the transport strategy, conflict with the UDP, and conflict with proposals to regenerate the area.

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Lambeth Consultation on UDP

The UDP consultation meeting on 5th Feb was a workshop to discuss (in groups) various sites in Streatham including the station/rink site. It was clear from the feedback summaries from the groups that the people there overwhelmingly supported keeping a rink and did not want a supermarket, so we were swimming (or skating) with the tide. However, such meetings are only part of the UDP consultation process. The plan was 'on deposit' six weeks, until 25th February which was the deadline for written representations.

The full UDP is a big document. The main parts that concern the rink are 'Policy 45 Protection and Enhancement of Open Space and Sports Facilities', 'Policy 66 Regeneration of Streatham town centre' and the associated major development opportunity 'MDO 91 Destination Streatham (Ice Rink/Streatham Station)', which includes the wording "Development should ... retain or create Ice Skating and other associated facilities of regional importance"

SISAG sent a group response, supporting this section but requesting that it be strengthened to include a specific commitment to a full size (60m x 30m) ice surface. Various supporters also sent individual responses. The full UDP, and subsections as smaller documents, are available from the Lambeth website at www.lambeth.gov.uk/udplan/default.html or from the Planning Advice Centre at 10 Acre Lane, tel 020 7926 1180.

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Definitely open until August

The staff have been informed that the rink will continue to be managed by Mr Wright for Tesco until 31st August 2002. Nothing is known yet about the arrangements beyond that date, and a key aspect of the campaign is to ensure that the rink does not close by default. A worrying consequence of the uncertainty is that people may think closure is inevitable, or that the rink has already closed.

Skating in Streatham needs your support. Come and take part, and show the council and Tesco that Streatham needs its ice rink!

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Recent Media Coverage

There was an item about the rink in the sports section of Families South West (a magazine circulated to families and distributed to schools, nurseries etc. over a wide area of SW London) including a contact for SISAG.

In the Croydon Advertiser on 26th April 2002 there was a prominent, well presented and mostly accurate piece about the Towler-Green twins training at Streatham and the problems that would be caused if the rink wer to close.

Photographs and articles about the Stanthorpe Residents Protest on 13th April 2002 appeared in the South London Press, Streatham Guardian and Streatham Post.

During the Eurosport coverage of the World Championships in Nagano Nicky Slater mentioned that he and Chris Howarth are involved in trying to get more ice rinks in the UK. We emailed Eurosport about the need to preserve existing facilities as well as bring rinks to new areas, and the Streatham situation was mentioned on air on 22nd and 23rd March.

There was a piece about Streatham Ice Rink in the local news part of the ITV lunchtime news on Friday 22nd March.

SISAG chair Nicola Hale was interviewed live on BBC London Radio on Tuesday 22nd January. She spoke very well and managed to get the main issues across, including the need for continuity.

There have been two relevant articles in recent issues of the Daily Telegraph, one by Sue Mott on 5th February about the state of UK skating in general, mentioning the threat to Streatham rink, and one by Gareth Davies on 15th Feb about the closure of Richmond rink, and failure to build a replacement. We have written to both journalists, and to the letters page in the hope of generating continuing interest.

There is special section in the Streatham Guardian site devoted to Streatham Ice Rink at http://www.streathamguardian.co.uk/news/streathamicerink including an online ballot on the future of the rink.

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Site sold to Tesco

It was reported in the South London Press on 18th January that the rink site had been bought by Tesco. We were already aware that they had an "agreement to buy" with milestones, but had been assuming that one of the milestones was planning consent, which has not been obtained. It now appears that they have gone ahead with the purchase anyway. So far there is a commitment to keep it open at least until 31st Augus. We are trying to get clarification from Tesco, but are assuming that it is in their interest to keep it open because closure would generate a lot of negative publicity.

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Exhibition of council's proposals

The council's second stage study for development on the site including the rink was presented at the Town Centre Meeting on 11th December. An exhibition of the proposals was held in the Town Centre Office, Streatham and West Norwood Libraries and Streatham Pool from December 12 to January 12.

The proposals look hopeful for our aims (they include a 60mx30m rink to be built before the existing one is demolished) so there is a risk people will think "that's OK then" and not bother to give feedback to the council. There is a long way to go and major issues of funding and land acquisition, and it is very important that the level of interest and visible support stays high.

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Streatham skaters succeed at British Championships!

The British Championships in Basingstoke (4th-8th December) brought successs to all 5 of Streatham's young National Squad skaters. Candice Towler-Green and James Phillipson won their competition to become British Junior Ice Dance champions. This title has come to Streatham two years in a row, since the 2000 champions were Candice's twin sister Philippa and her partner Robert Burgerman. Is this the first time twins have both become champions? Philippa and Robert, in their very first year of senior competition, came an impressive 4th in the Senior Ice Dance championship. In the Senior Ladies Vikki Hodges, lying 5th after the Short Programme, won the Free programme to become overall silver medallist. Well done to all!

Let's preserve skating in Streatham for the community and for future generations of champions.

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Residents get 1800 signatures

The Stanthorpe Residents Association organised a day of campaigning on Streatham High Road on Saturday 13th October. More than 1800 people signed slips reading

"I feel very strongly that Lambeth Council should promote the development of the Ice Rink site as a leisure and social amenity to include a full size Ice Rink and Swimming Pool and not permit the supermarket development currently proposed by Tesco."

These will be sent to the Planning Department and will count as objections to the planning application, which has now passed the technical validation stage (see below).

Several local councillors, and Streatham MP Keith Hill, visited the stand outside the Odeon Cinema and expressed their support.

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Tesco Planning Application - The Text

The list of applications accepted as valid during week ending 6 October 2001, included the Tesco application. The text read

"Demolition of the existing bus depot, ice rink, and former Church Sunday school building, and redevelopment to provide a food store, two retail units, a unit for community use with 112 private residential units above the proposed car park, including a first floor roof garden facing Natal Road, and 48 affordable and key worker housing units above the foodstore, together with associated servicing and car parking facilities. Demolition of the existing car wash and carpet showroom and redevelopment to create a bus interchange."

As expected, there is no mention of any plan to replace the rink.

Despite appearing on the list of valid applications (in error?) we have been informed by the planning department that the application is not complete since the environmental impact assessment has not been submitted.

[Note added 12/9/02 - this application was withdrawn in July 2002. A new application was submitted on 6/9/02]

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Page last updated: 5th October 2008