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Dundonald Ice Bowl
Plans to redevelop the ageing Dundonald Ice Bowl have been put on ice – at a cost to the public of almost £1.25m!
For the Sunday World can reveal that red tape surrounding the new amalgamation of Castlereagh and Lisburn borough councils into a new ‘supercouncil’ means plans to modernise the complex have been shelved.
And now every penny that has been taken from the public purse, £1,219,291 to be exact, which has been used to pay planning and architectural companies, has gone to waste.
The shock news comes at a time when budgets for councils and government agencies are being slashed across the board – and on the back of yet another Stormont expenses scandal.
A new ‘Shadow Council’, made up of members from Castlereagh and Lisburn borough councils, has made the call to halt any further development on the plans.
In May of this year, Castlereagh Borough Council put forward an application to redevelop the current Dundonald Ice Bowl complex.
The paper that was lodged boasted that the new complex would be a ‘flagship development’ with an Olympic standard ice rink.
The redevelopment of the centre was also to include and NHS health and wellbeing centre, with new development to be built adjacent to the current Ice Bowl, which was to be bulldozed and landscaped.
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Clik here to view. An artist's impression of how the new Ice Bowl would have looked
The Ice Bowl, in its current form, was opened 27 years ago and is still a hugely popular complex, attracting roughly 600,000 visitors per year.
The new complex was set to be finished in early 2017, with a new state-of-the-art bowling alley and a new children’s soft play area to replace the famous Indiana Land jungle gym.
In a statement released to the Sunday World, a spokesperson for Castlereagh Borough Council said: “A decision has been made by the Shadow Council for the new Lisburn City and Castlereagh District Council not to proceed with the proposed plans to redevelop Dundonald International Ice Bowl, in its current design, at this point in time.
“Local Government is currently undergoing unprecedented reform which will take effect from 1st April 2015.
“Consequently Lisburn City and Castlereagh District Council is currently considering the associated costs of delivering and sustaining all the required services, projects and programmes for the new Council area.”
The spokesperson continued: “Consideration must therefore be given to developing a prudent, affordable and sustainable financial model for the Council during these challenging times.
“The Shadow Council has however confirmed that upgrading or the redevelopment of Dundonald International Ice Bowl would still be included in discussions regarding capital budgets for the new Council and ongoing investigations into potential European funding for the Project.
“To date, Castlereagh Borough Council has spent £1,219,291 on planning and architectural fees during the course of the Project.”
Castlereagh Borough Council also told us that the bulk of the costs were fees paid to architectural firm McAdam Design and planning company Resolve Planning and Development.