Children enjoying the new facilities at Sobell Leisure Centre

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A SOFT-play zone has opened at Sobell Leisure Centre, controversially replacing an ice rink that skaters had fought to salvage after it was ruined by flooding two years ago.

The 200-person capacity play-topia of slides, tunnels and bridges is part of a wider refurbishment at Sobell following major damage from a burst water pipe in August 2022.

Mother-of-two Kayreen Prissana Reading said the new play complex was “definitely worth the wait”.

She added: “I used to take my two to the previous soft play but when the flood happened we had to travel to other places which was very time consuming.

“The kids absolutely loved it. We can’t wait to go back and my daughter is 100 per cent wanting to have her birthday there.”

Ms Reading added that the one-hour session was quite short and – at £4.95 for under-twos and £7.95 for over-twos – more expensive than other soft-plays.

But for those who loved Sobell for its ice rink, which first opened in 1973, the new soft-play is a reminder of how they have been let down by Islington Council and Greenwich Leisure Limited, who co-run the leisure centre.

Figure-skater Madeleine Beasley said: “We didn’t get one penny towards anything that we lost [in the flood] – no jobs, no costumes, no skates.

“This was all about the money. Islington Council don’t give a damn about anything to do with the community, and for us it goes so deep because we have such a rich, diverse history at that ice rink and we’ve been left out to dry. It’s disgusting.”

Ms Beasley said that she agreed with the need for a soft-play, but that the Sobell “could have had both”.

Skaters assumed the rink would be restored after the flooding in 2022, but after 10 months of closure they learned that it may never reopen.

Figure-skating coach Karen Coombes led a subsequent campaign to save the rink.

“It’s put a bitter taste in our mouths that they [GLL and Islington Council] did not look after us one bit,” said Ms Coombes, who now teaches in Gillingham, Kent.

Skating coaches at the Sobell were told they may be able to get teaching jobs at a new rink in Lee Valley, but Ms Coombes told the Tribune that none of those offers have materialised. According to the council, Sobell ice assistants were offered work at Lee Valley where some commenced employment.

Ice hockey team the Sobell Slappers were also among those displaced.

One of its founders, Anthony Lau, said: “The rink was very unique. We are sad that it went this way.”

The Slappers now have their ice time at Alexandra Palace or Lee Valley, but they can only afford to book these full-size rinks for games of more than 20 people, whereas the Sobell’s smaller size made it ideal for skating drills and skills development, which the team can no longer facilitate.

Mr Lau added: “Ally Pally is not that easy to get to, and some ice rink sessions finish at midnight. It’s a barrier. You need more rinks to keep the sport alive.”

Skaters staged a protest in a bid to save the rink

Last summer a public consultation on whether to repair the rink was mired in controversy when an email leak revealed the head of the Labour group’s office advising Islington Council’s leader to “at least make it look like we are listening”.

The Town Hall eventually said the rink had to go because it was no longer financially viable, citing losses of £250,000 in the year before the flood.

Figure-skater and former Sobell coach Davina Victory, who now teaches in Romford, told the Tribune: “Losing Sobell is a crying shame. Everyone has dispersed. Some have come with me, some have gone to Ally Pally, but some of them had to give up, for sure.”

Islington’s health and social care chief Cllr Flora Williamson said: “I was delighted to see so many families at Sobell Leisure Centre at the weekend. Parents and children were excited to see the new facilities to help them get active and enjoy themselves.

“I understand that the decision not to put in a new ice rink disappointed a few people who were using the centre for ice skating before the flood. We have worked with many of those skaters since the decision was made. We successfully arranged for almost all the regular booking slots to be moved to the rink at Lee Valley.

“We have worked hard to make sure that the centre offers sport activities which will be well used by the community and deliver on our ambitions to make Islington a healthier borough.”

Greenwich Leisure Limited did not respond to a request for comment.