Decision details

To lead the delivery of the Cheltenham Christmas Ice Rink for 2025, 2026 and 2027, subject to planning permission. If planning consent is awarded, to extend the contract with S3K Limited for delivery and management of the Christmas Ice Rink for 12 months.

The council ran the Cheltenham Christmas Ice Rink from Friday 29 November 2024 to Saturday 4 January 2025 in Imperial Gardens, welcoming over 30,000 skaters and providing a popular Christmas attraction for visitors and residents.

Many ice rink visitors then went on to spend money in local businesses, using the ice rink as the catalyst for time spent in Cheltenham town centre. An independent economic impact assessment found that an estimated £1.6m was spent in Cheltenham by all those visiting the ice rink with an estimated £530,000 of this classified as ‘additional’, i.e. it would not have occurred without the presence of the ice rink.

Social and environmental impacts included enhanced accessibility measures, spend in local businesses, employment of local people, and free tickets funded by the Holiday Activities and Food fund.

The total cost to deliver the ice rink was £371,000, with income of £307,000, resulting in an overall cost to the Council of £64,000. However, this year’s event was subsidised by a one-off contribution of £40,000 UKSPF funding, reducing Council base budget contribution to around £24,000. Based on the results of the economic impact analysis of additional spend at the event, this represents an estimated return on investment to the local economy of approximately £22.00 per £1.00 invested by the council.

The ice rink operator, S3K Limited was selected via a competitive procurement process for the 2023 event. The contract permits the council to extend the term of the contract by up to 24 months (or two further events) meaning that from commencement in July 2023, the contract may run for a total term of three years. One extension has already occurred and, following the Cabinet member decision, this option will be utilised for 2025 to ensure continuity of service from the operator, subject to planning permission. The current contract with S3K Limited has been subject to close scrutiny by the council in respect of delivery and performance. A positive working relationship has developed, with S3K Limited being timely and responsive in respect of delivery.

The alternative option is not to deliver the ice rink. This is not recommended because then the town would lose the benefit of the social and economic impacts generated by this event, including additional visitor spend, community engagement and spend with local suppliers.

This is the second year of the event in its current format and, each year, lessons learned have been acknowledged and improvements have been made. There is ongoing engagement with stakeholders, suppliers and businesses which will potentially lead to partnership and sponsorship arrangements for future events. If approval is not given, this will jeopardise multi-year arrangements for suppliers and sponsors which support the longer-term sustainability of the event.