A Central London council has approved plans for a swanky new ice rink and festive bar despite confusion over whether it was legal. Westminster City councillors voted five to one to approve a pop-up ice rink on Hanover Square in Mayfair set to run over Christmas.
West End councillor Paul Fisher said he was concerned the council hadn’t sought enough advice on whether the project breached a 1931 law governing the use of squares in London. The Labour cllr said: “I’m certainly no Scrooge; I love Christmas, but you can’t use that to shame me into voting for an application that we have not been granted sufficient evidence to prove is in compliance with an act of parliament.”
He accused the council, currently run by Labour, of using granting permission based on previous decisions when it suits them. Cllr Fisher, who called the design of the ice-rink which falls in his ward "tacky", added: “That is not sufficient. We need to be given clear legal advice about Acts like this because it is no longer about planning policy, it is about our duty to act under statute.
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“I don’t think the committee has been given sufficient justification for the interpretation provided and I suggest that might be the reason why in Westminster we see the commercialisation of our public spaces.” Tory cllr Jim Glen said the planning committee had to judge applications based on council policy, and not whether it was legal, prompting cllr Fisher to say it was important to consider both aspects in making a decision.
The committee voted on Tuesday, October 17, to grant the operator, Underbelly, 12-month permission, citing the need to review the event before considering extending it for another two years. Westminster City officers claim the London Squares Preservation Act 1931 allows Squares in the capital to be transformed into “pleasure grounds”, which the council argues this application does.
In handing down her decision, chair cllr Ruth Bush said the council must seek more legal advice going forward, adding: “I am going to rely on the precedent we have already used in the past in relation to squares and the description of having them as places for entertainment and pleasure historically and I would grant this for one year and hope the investment does not seem a waste to the applicant.”
Mike Dunn, representing the Residents Society of Mayfair and St James, questioned the committee’s logic about granting temporary events like this one. He said: “You’re travelling up the motorway for an urgent meeting. At one of the junctions, there is a hold-up and the traffic flow is slow.
"You get behind schedule. So, for 10 miles, you decide to travel at 90 miles an hour in order to make up time. The police stop you and your defence is: ‘Well, I was only doing it for a temporary time.’ Will that get you off? In your dreams. Well, that is the essence of this application.”
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Edward Bartlam, an Underbelly director, said some of the money raised from ticket sales will go to helping Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) research aggressive brain tumours, which he revealed killed his seven-year-old son in 2019. He said: “He was looked after by the amazing staff at GOSH and there is no better place to raise the money for.”
The Underbelly director also said the project would be a new cultural attraction for shoppers, bring in jobs, and vowed to hand out free and discounted tickets for local school and community groups as well as GOSH patients and staff.
A similar application will be reviewed by the council’s licensing team. Known as Skate West End, the rink will run from 10am to 10pm from Mondays to Saturdays and 10am to 8pm on Sundays, the committee was told. Plans show an elliptical rink surrounding a festive bar that can only be accessed via two pedestrian bridges and marquees which will be adorned with festive festoon lighting.
Skaters will be able to make their way through two arched entrances on either side of the site, which is powered by HVO generators using vegetable oil, Edward said. The event will run until January 1, 2024.
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