A decision is still pending on whether planning permission will be granted for the ice skating rink at Bournemouth Winter Wonderland in the Lower Gardens, despite it closing next week.
The Christmas Tree Wonderland event is being run by the Bournemouth Christmas Company, made up of Seventa Events and SKATE Events, with support from the Coastal BID and the Town Centre BID, and opened on November 13 ahead of its planned closure on December 31.
In November, BCP Council’s eastern planning committee considered a planning application covering part of the site, including the ice rink, a games stall and an alpine chalet, with officers recommending refusal due to a lack of required information and the unauthorised removal of a cherry tree.
Councillors chose to defer the decision to allow officers and the applicant more time to address biodiversity net gain requirements, agreeing the application should return to committee if officers continued to recommend refusal.
Planning documents show a habitat classification map has since been submitted to set out the ecological baseline, but a council response dated December 19, this year, says key issues remain unresolved.
The response states several trees are missing from baseline data, planting and surfacing around a kiosk have been inaccurately mapped, and legally required information relating to the Bourne Stream has not been completed.
The council also says no post development habitat plan has been provided, the required ten percent biodiversity net gain has not been demonstrated, and the removal of the cherry tree cannot be treated as a temporary loss.
The ice rink has continued to operate while the application is under review, with no indication yet of when a final decision will be made.
Share us with your friends on social media, and have a listen to Bournemouth One online and on DAB for all your local news, traffic, jobs, weather, coastal info and more.
Register below for free regular updates via email.