FANS, families and ice skaters have become concerned with the condition of the ice rink at Planet Ice in the leisure park.

With one of the stands being condemned, the closure of one of the main changing rooms and poor condition of the ice, people who use the facilities have started an online petition to get these issues addressed.

As previously reported in The Gazette, the reigning English Premier League champions, the Basingstoke Bison, have confirmed they will continue to use the arena as its home despite the issues raised.

After hosting a routine practise session on the ice, members of the Basingstoke Barracudas decided to set up the petition to get answers.

Rob Ronan, from Whitchurch, is a member of the Barracudas team, as well as assistant manager for the under 9s and under 11s junior Bison teams.

He said the arena is becoming unsafe to use and members feel they are being left in the dark.

“There is only one functioning changing room which forces people getting changed to play hockey to use open public areas including the cafe area,” said the 42-year-old.

“The ice surface gets very misty due to the lack of a working dehumidifier, this leads to dangerous conditions in which to skate.

“I don’t say this just as someone who uses the rink but as a fan of the Bison, who as a championship winning side deserve better facilities.”

Planet Ice is one of the proposed sites which is looking to be revamped as part of the proposed £200 million NewRiver development put forward by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

John Neville from Planet Ice said they are aware of the concerns and are working closely with the council to rectify the issues.

Mr Neville said: “Together, we feel we can work towards a mutually beneficial solution for the users and supporters of the rink.”