Secret talks to sell ice rink for housing

Edinburgh-based housing giant the Miller Group is understood to have entered into buy-out talks with the owners of the 60-year-old rink.

The move would mark the end of an era for the venue, which once hosted crowds of more than 3000 when the Murrayfield Racers ice hockey team were at the height of their popularity.

The rink has also been a firm favourite with skaters for generations and is home to Edinburgh’s current ice hockey team the Capitals.

Miller refused to comment on the talks today. However, it is understood that the firm is in discussions with the ice rink’s owners about a possible sale.

One source who is close to the deal said: "Obviously, Miller are not in the business of running ice rinks."

Ice rink co-owner, city businessman Ian Kerr, admitted that the construction giant is interested in the site.

He said: "It is no secret that Miller are involved. We are just waiting to see what happens next."

Mr Kerr refused to be drawn on Miller’s exact plans for the ice rink and denied that the venue had already been sold to the building firm.

The rink is surrounded by land owned by the Scottish Rugby Union, who have plans for a multi-million pound office and conference centre on the site.

Secrecy has surrounded the fate of the landmark building since the Evening News revealed three years ago that it was at the centre of talks involving another property dealer and a top hotel group.

Property dealer Charlie McKinlay - Edinburgh’s self-styled "sitefinder general" - was understood to be in talks to buy over the venue.

Sources claimed that Swedish hotel group Scandic was waiting in the wings to spearhead a hotel-and-houses plan for the ice rink site.

That plan is now thought to be dead, with Miller emerging as the most likely new buyer for the landmark building.

Although 200,000 people a year still come through the doors for skating alone, the long-term future of the site has long been the subject of speculation.

The ice rink has been hit with a series of crises in recent years.

The rink was closed for seven and a half weeks after being hit by flooding two years ago, which left the owners with a 200,000 repair bill.

They then claimed that the rink would be forced to operate without insurance against flooding - leaving it with potentially huge problems if there is another serious downpour.

The fabric of the 60-year-old building is under constant attack from the damp atmosphere, and much of the door income is swallowed up by bills or meeting the wages of the four full-time engineers and 30 part-time staff.

The rink, with its 200ft-by-97ft Olympic-sized surface, was built in 1939 at an approximate cost of 60,000.

Used by the Army during and after the war, it has been owned by the Kerr and Neil families since 1957.

However, they have made no secret of their willingness to sell up if an appropriate buyer comes along. The Edinburgh Capitals ice hockey team gets free use of the rink in a bid to keep senior hockey alive after the demise of the Racers.

An insider at the Capitals said they had not been told about any possible buy over of the rink.

He added: "Ideally, we would like to see a new arena developed on the site but that is a long way off.

"We certainly plan to keep playing at Murrayfield for some time to come." The Scottish Rugby Union has already been in talks with the ice rink’s owners over their plans, as the rink is in the middle of the land they want to sell for development. But there has been major opposition from local people to any developments at the Murrayfield site.

Opponents claim there is no justification for turning a greenfield site into a "concrete jungle".

Residents living next to the Water of Leith also claim that developing the area around Murrayfield, which acts as a natural flood plain, could worsen existing flood problems .