WNC criticised over Christmas ice rink in Northampton’s Market Square, which cost around £336,000 to stage and required nearly £176,000 of public funds to break even

The council’s claim that the rink, open from December 4 to January 4, “broke even” has been challenged by opposition councillors, who say taxpayers’ money was used to subsidise the four-week event.

On January 12, the Reform-led WNC said Christmas events, including the ice rink, brought in more than 55,000 visitors.

The council said revenue from ticket and bar sales totalled £122,000 and said the ice rink “broke even” without “placing any additional pressure on core council services”. The council also highlighted the positive impact on businesses in the town centre and the hospitality industry.

A breakdown of income and expenditure has since been revealed following a Freedom of Information request.

The figures show the ice rink cost around £336,000 to stage in total. This included spending of about £235,000 on the ice rink itself, £42,000 on staffing and security, £40,000 on infrastructure, £12,000 on marketing, £4,000 on associated events and £2,500 on power.

To cover those costs, the same total – around £336,000 – was recorded as income. That income included roughly £122,000 from ticket sales, £69,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), about £107,000 from WNC’s own culture and events budget, £9,500 in sponsorship, around £6,500 from Northampton BID and just over £1,000 from bar sales.

Reform councillor James Petter, WNC’s deputy leader and cabinet member for local economy, culture and leisure, said: “The response to the ice rink and festive activities has been fantastic and it’s been great to see Northampton Market Square so busy over the Christmas and New Year period.”

However, Conservative group leader Daniel Lister criticised the council’s claim that the event broke even.

He said: “Reform claims the Christmas ice rink in Northampton broke even. The accounts tell a different story. This event needed a six-figure subsidy just to avoid a loss.

“Reform also claim 55,000 visitors - yet ticket sales of £122,418 suggest either an average ticket price of just £2.23, or far fewer paying customers than claimed.

“Think about what nearly £200,000 could have done. Christmas events across West Northamptonshire. Events supporting our other market towns all year round. A whole year's worth of community activities reaching far more residents.

“There's a legitimate debate about event strategy and economic impact. If Reform want to argue the benefits justified concentrating this investment in one Northampton location, they should make that case openly.

“We deserve transparency. The ice rink required £175,951 in public funds that are now unavailable for other events and services across West Northamptonshire. That's the reality.”

Labour leader Sally Keeble said: “I’m glad people had such a good time at the ice rink – lots of people said how much they enjoyed it. However it came with too high a price tag for a council that is struggling to pay for the basics. £106,000 is a lot of public money, added to which is the £20,000 put in by the Town Council.”

Councillor Keeble added: “Providing an ice rink is stretching the boundaries of what the UKSPF funding should be used for. It’s supposed to be a funding stream designed to tackle serious levelling up issues – it should not be used as a slush fund to subsidise jollies.

"If it’s done next year they need to work out a budget that puts less of a strain on the public purse. I don’t know if the bar was leased out as a franchise – the council should not be running alcohol sales, especially not at an event targeted at children.”

Independent councillor Julie Davenport also raised concerns. She said: “Could this money have gone towards something more permanent or beneficial for the town and not used for a rink for four weeks?”

In response, WNC leader Mark Arnull said: “It’s a little rich of the Conservative leader to come down on our commitment to regeneration and driving economic growth, and he pays little attention to what good the ice rink did for small shops, larger retail, and hospitality.

"After all, this authority bears the burden of 20 years of fiscal incompetence at the hands of the Conservatives, with over £18 million spent annually by WNC paying interests on debts they created when in power. If we didn’t have this debt hanging over us, measurable transformation of Place would be visible for all to see.

"Where I do agree with councillor Lister, and other party leaders, is that more needs to be done for our market towns and they must not be left behind. This will be reviewed over the coming months."

The Chron asked WNC under what criteria the UKSPF funding was secured, whether the funding would be repeatable in future years, when a decision would be taken on whether the ice rink would return in 2026, and whether there were any outstanding costs still to be added.

In response, WNC said: “The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central government programme, with funding allocated to local authorities rather than secured through a bidding process. WNC received an allocation for 2025/26 as part of this programme. UKSPF funding is time-limited and, at present, there are no further allocations planned by central government beyond this period.”

The council confirmed there was no outstanding costs to be added and, on future events, the council said: “Discussions are currently underway and we will share more once finalised.”