Petition to save Ayr Ice Rink reaches 10k signatures
Operators of the venue, Ayr Curling Club, last week announced the Ice Rink would be closing its doors permanently due to rocketing energy bills.
A petition to stop Ayr Ice Rink from closing this winter has accumulated more than 10,000 signatures in the space of a week.
Operators of the venue, Ayr Curling Club, last week announced the Ice Rink would be closing its doors permanently due to rocketing energy bills.
They said they’d been paid over £150,000 in bills this year alone, and were expecting the figure to rise by 110%.
The closure would mean around 500 members from 30 curling clubs and members of other Ice Sport groups like Ayr Bruins Ice Hockey, and Kyle Figure Skating club, would be left with no facilities in their local area.
With direct routes to national representation in their sport, the parents of children attending have rallied together to try prevent the closure, but have found the board of Ayr Curling Club are not engaging properly.
However, with more than 10,000 signatures on the petition, the movement is gaining traction and the attention of media all over the country.
Stuart Robertson is a volunteer and parent at Ayr Bruins Ice Hockey, and is part of the Save Ayr Ice Rink campaign.
He tells Greatest Hits Radio that everyone feels optimistic about saving the Ice Rink now they’ve seen just how much support is being offered to help.
He said: “ The whole announcement took us all by surprise because a few months ago we’d been told the Ice Rink was safe for another year from October, because they’d signed a new energy deal.
But getting 10,000 signatures, with most of them probably from the local area, is amazing because it shows how many people are wanting to keep using the Ice Rink.
“At the moment we’ve tried to get people from Ayr Curling Club to come and speak with us to try and go down a charitable trust route because there is a lot of funding there.
“We’ve also suggested ways to increase the income, such as opening the rink up for public use, and also opening the licensed bar for events etc
“So we’ve tried to get them to come on board, but they haven’t been too receptive to us so far.
“The support from the petition is amazing though, and it’s really just a way of tallying that support and showcasing it. If we can keep getting more that’s fantastic.”
More information on how to support the campaign and sign the petition can be found here.