Robert MacMillan says

I find it absolutely nauseating that more money is going to be given to KA Leisure as this organization is either a fiscal nightmare or it is deliberately diverting funds from other leisure areas into another pet project.

Auchenharvie gym is an absolute disgrace given the amount of members and the average monthly subscription. When it opened, clients were informed that the equipment would be checked on a daily basis and that any faults would be rectified immediately.

Now it is difficult to imagine that any checks whatsoever are done and defective machines remain in service, without repair, until they become completely unusable.

It is just another example of the council managing to fleece people of their hard earned cash and now it is probably using the subscriptions paid by gym members to pay for other completely undersubscribed activities.

Prior to cancelling my membership at Auchenharvie gym, many an hour was spent admiring the vast, almost deserted area, taken up by the ice rink whilst gym patrons hovered around waiting for a machine to become free to use. However, this has not stopped those responsible from expending vast amounts of money in refurbishment of what is, essentially, a large room for frozen water!

Perhaps if everyone who has a gym membership cancelled it, the incompetents who run the leisure facilities at Auchenharvie would have their attention focussed where it should be, rather than on trying to entice the public to partake in facilities that current attendance indicates is of little interest except to those few who do have a genuine interest in it.

Guest User says

North Ayrshire Leisure is actually getting rid of the Magnum Ice Rink so instead of two rinks in North Ayrshire there will only be one.

The proposed timetable for the new rink is so tight between Curlers, Ice Hockey, Speed Skating and two skating clubs all fighting for ice time and having to accomodate public skating and ice discos as well.

The ice rink only stands empty during during school hours as it is primarily a sport for the young - the gym I presume is busiest at this time as many of its clientele will be housewives!!

Auchenharvie skating club has 120 members aged from 3 - 83 and whenever the club times finish on Saturday and Sunday there is a queue of children lining up to get in to the rink - it is NOT undersubscribed.

There are many gym facilities in the whole of North Ayrshire - five council operated and at least double that are private enterprises - while there is at present two ice rinks (soon to become one).

The children who use this facility will be too young to be allowed to join the KA gym as you have to be 16 so what will they do with their weekends now - could Mr MacMillan make any suggestions>

Annie Mc says

Absolutely agree with the guest user comment above. There are currently 105 scheduled hours of ice activity between the two rinks. How can that fit into one facility?

Magnum club is similar to Auchenharvie - waiting list for membership, and for the Snowbabies skating lessons.

Friday nights, the queue to get into the ice discos is usually well over the bridge at the entrance. With only one ice rink, there isn't going to be enough ice time for the local groups - where is Mr Keddilty going to fit all these skaters from "further afield".

As for Mr McMillans comments that the ice rink is unused throughout the day, I have repeatedly asked at both the Magnum and Auchenharvies for a weekday skating session, only to be told repeatedly that both rink schedules are full, and they couldn't possibly squeeze in a session.

Maybe North Ayrshire Leisure don't want the rinks to be used - makes it easier to shut one down.

You'd think, wouldn't you, that with all the hooha about childhood obesity, and lack of facilities for young people leading to anti social behaviour, the council would be trying to provide good facilities for youngsters.

Not only will we have one less ice rink, the plans for the "replacement" Magnum do not include a theatre, an indoor bowling hall or a fun pool with any of the stuff that makes a trip to the current Magnum pool great fun - the people of North Ayrshire are being seriously short changed here.

Susan Millar says

Miss Susan Margaret Mary Millar-''I Am A Member of Auchenharvie Ice-Dance&Figure-Skating Club and Been Doing Ice-Skating for 20 Years Now''.

I am really disappointed that Auchenharvie Ice Rink is to close this August 16th 2009 at the end of the summer holidays cos It'll Be a shame for the skaters that use Auchenharvie Ice Rink every day will be relocated to the doomed Magnum centre in Irvine for their ice-skating sessions and Figure-skating Clubs too.

''I think it'll be difficult for the ice-skaters to be sent further afield such as Ayr, Greenock, East Kilbride & even Kilmarnock as well''.

anon 101 says

Any club for children to do sport is good. it keeps them off the streets, gives them goals to focus on and makes them feel part of a community.

The new ice rink is going to be a great asset to the area once it is up and running.

My gripe is why does it have to close in August when the actual building work is not going to start until next March???

Annie Mc says

Anon 101, It's closing in August because KA leisure have run out of dosh.

They wanted to shut it in May, but one or two of the more enlightened Councilors in the area put their collective feet down. The new ice rink may well be an asset the the area, but there will be much less ice time available - in the winter, curling takes up several days at both Magnum and Auchenharvie.

Both rinks currently have a pretty full schedule - unless they are going to open til midnight, there just isn't going to be enough ice time to go round.

It will be interesting to see how all the ice users cope when Auchenharvie shuts, and everyone has to travel to the Magnum.

Gemmima Lowe says

My daughter has just started snow babies at the magnum and i will be dissapointed that when it closes we will have to travel to Stevenston to skate.

As many before me have pointed out there is so many activities for all ages that can be done on the ice the council must be off their heads to get rid of the busiest thing that with the correct enviromentally safe gas to run the ice actualy make them money, after all is that not what they are interested in?

Many people from Irvine and surrounding areas may not have the means to travel to a limited skate time in Stevenston.

I do feel for all the ice sports that take place at the magnum and hope that the council re-think their decision to close the ice in Irvine.

Guest User says

Auchenharvie and Magnum ice-rinks are just under 7 1/2 miles apart. So not really much travelling to be done for anyone from three towns areas, Kilwinning or Irvine.

My daughter currently skates at Auchenharvie and is having to travel to Irvine. The ice time we have been allocated includes a 6am start at Irvine on a Sunday morning. This will mean leaving the house at 5am every Sunday.

Irvine is the very edge of the boundary for North Ayrshire and not convenient for most of the North Ayrshire residents. It is only fair that it is nearer to the centre of North Ayrshire than Irvine!!!

David Birse says

Well at least you don't live in Aberdeen where our ice rink has been closed since March 2008. Our nearest rink is either Dundee or Elgin - both around 65 miles away from Aberdeen. If you think it is bad trying to get ice time down in your area, try that one! Again it is the council that closed the rink. Complete madness.

JEN MACK says

I used to walk to the ice rink near Ayr and now I cannot skate as I have no car..

The council are useless selfish fatcats.. They don't care about teenagers like us. But they are quick to complain when we are out in the streets cauing issues because we are bored..

What can we do. Ice skate.. no.. Roller disco.. no.. Gym.. cant afford it and its not fun using running machines.

Can we swim.. not since the price hike.. We need things to DO!!

Joe Public says

In reply to Robert MacMillan, go and look at the actual bookings and usage of the ice rink before spouting clearly ill-informed opinions.

Unlike the gym the ice provides facilities for a wide range of people, not just the relatively small number in comparison who use the gym.

You also take into account that the membership numbers for the skating clubs mentioned are not the true number people who use the ice, this is in fact far far higher as most skaters are not members of the clubs, but simply casual (albeit regular) skaters who turn up for family or general skating.

We used to have an excellent range of ice rinks in the central area of Scotland with rinks from Ayr, Prestwick, Paisley through Glasgow ( Finnieston, Crossmyloff, St Enoch ) and on over to the East with Rinks in Hamilton and Livingston, now there are few survivors with the rest having fallen prey to the developers of retail units. I fully agree that there should be more money directed into this and let the gym monkeys (and I include myself in this) use the many many many facilities that are available, and these are the classic "only rarely busy" facilities.

There seems to be a great push for active lifestyle these days but the councils are failing to provide the facilities that would be used by the entire resident demographic in both a regular and occasional social use, not the minority numbers that use the gym.

Come on Councillors, listen and earn our keep for once not just coin in your expenses.