Planning granted for new Gogar rink

The plans for a new curling rink at Ratho to replace the Gogar Park rink which closed in 2005 have already been described in these pages. Another hurdle, that of achieving planning premission, has now been overcome.

According to a report in the Edinburgh Evening News, Edinburgh City councillors gave the plans the go-ahead at a planning meeting yesterday, despite officials recommending it should be refused because it could harm the 'rural character' of the area.

At an EGM in June, club members backed plans to push ahead with efforts to have their own rink again. At present club competitions are held at Murrayfield. The business plan can be downloaded from the Gogar website. This recent positive planning decision will provide further impetus to these efforts.

This aerial photo is taken from Gogar's business plan for the Ratho development and shows where the 6-sheet rink would be located in relation to the existing climbing centre.