One of Bournemouth’s biggest seasonal attractions operated without planning permission after it became tied up in planning issues.
The application to gain permission for the ice rink in Bournemouth has now been withdrawn with no decision from the council.
Bournemouth Christmas Events submitted a planning application to BCP Council in June 2025 which become valid in August 2025. The proposal was for a temporary Christmas event which would include an Ice rink, alpine chalet and games stall.
Originally the decision about the plans was going to be made by officers but after a cherry tree was cut down, triggering a ‘strange quirk’ in Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation, the proposal was sent to committee with a recommendation to refuse.
Bournemouth Christmas Winter Wonderland event opened on November 13 regardless.
BCP eastern planning committee heard the application on November 20 and decided to refer the application back to officers to allow the applicant more time to resolve issues relating to BNG with the condition that the plans come back to committee if the officers still wished to refuse the application.
The event was allowed to continue to operate without planning permission while ongoing issues were resolved.
BCP Council made no formal decision about the application before it was withdrawn on January 7.
SKATE Bournemouth website indicates that the ice rink will be returning in November 2026, following a five-year contract award in 2025 to operate the service on behalf of BCP Council.
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