By Lewis McBlane
Copyright grampianonline
Elgin Ice Rink could not have been saved without an “outcry” from the community, according to a leading campaigner.
Dave Allen, chairman of the Ice Rink Joint User Group, spoke to The Northern Scot shortly after Moray Leisure Centre revealed the rink would reopen in October.
Mr Allen, who founded the Elgin Sports and Community Trust and the Gleaner Arena, said he was “delighted” at the news.
A wide range of regular ice rink users, including ice skating, ice hockey and curling clubs, were united by horror after Moray Leisure Centre announced in July that the facility would close.
Protests and petitions were quickly organised in response to the bombshell news, and Mr Allen was approached to see if he could help users in their fight to save the ice rink open.
He agreed and, once the Ice Rink Joint User Group was formed, it initially served as a way to let people “vent their frustrations, to get that of their system”.
“Users were obviously feeling very let down by the sudden announcement of the closure,” Mr Allen added.
“The users had felt they weren’t really being heard.
“But the public reaction could not be ignored.”
However, the focus quickly turned to drawing up constructive and positive plans to make the rink sustainable while being “as constructive as we could possibly be”.
Mr Allen said it had been the group’s positivity and forward-looking approach which was key to saving the ice rink.
And, before long, the group would become a way to “build that bridge” with Moray Leisure Centre.
“A lot of hard work, a lot of time, went into providing a space where the users’ ideas could be heard and put forward to Moray Leisure Centre,” Mr Allen said.
“It’s a lovely example of the community coming together and what can be achieved in a positive environment, an atmosphere where people can be heard.
“It’s all fantastic for everyone concerned, really.”
At a time of stretched budgets for local councils and governments, communities are often faced with losing much-loved services and facilities in the local area.
However, Mr Allen said, the difficult part for people engaged in these struggles can be working out and uniting behind a way to move forward.
“Sometimes people don’t know what to do or how to do it, how to go about channelling that energy in a positive way,” he added.
“We really did need to act quickly – and that’s what we did.”
Mr Allen also praised the work of independent members of the group who helped lead the campaign to victory.
This included former Scotland international footballer Nicky Grant from Phoenics Consulting, Ruth Cochrane from the School of Innovation and Technology at the Glasgow School of Art’s Moray Campus, and Sarah Medcraf from Moray Chamber of Commerce.
He also thanked John O’Kane, CEO of Moray Leisure Centre, for playing a key role in the discussions.
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