The ice rink at the Link Centre is set to reopen to the public soon after a £300,000 refurbishment

The facility closed from May 16 for almost four months to allow for a series of plant improvement and energy efficiency works.

People will be able to return to the ice on Saturday, September 9.

The project aimed to safeguard the future of the ice rink by upgrading plant and machinery, leading to reduced energy consumption and improved efficiency in a bid to tackle rapidly rising costs that had doubled in the last four years. 

A spokesperson for Better said: "We look forward to welcoming you back to the Ice Rink from Monday 4th September, members can prebook ice activities from Monday 25th August and non-members will be able to prebook ice activities from Wednesday 30th August."

And a post on the Better Link Centre - Swindon Facebook page is advertising an offer for its first weekend back. 

It says: "Want to get back to ice skating? Well, we have an offer on for our first weekend back! £5 for our public skating sessions,

"Saturday [September] 9 and Sunday [September] 10 at 10.45am-12.45pm & 3.30pm-5.30pm

"To book on please use your Better UK app or through our website on the link below - https://brnw.ch/21wC3RM."

The improvement work saw the ice pad lifted, the old and inefficient plant replaced and a new state-of-the-art drying cooling system installed to replace the cooling tower which was in need of replacement as it was at the end of its lifecycle age.

It is hoped this will help with running costs which had reached £1.2million a year, up 100 per cent from the £600k it was costing in 2019. 

The work was scheduled over the summer to minimise disruption as it fell outside the main ice hockey season and at a time when club, group and public bookings tend to be at their lowest.

Barnaby Rich, partnership manager for GLL - the charitable social enterprise that operates the ice rink, said at the time: “While we recognise that the temporary closure will be an inconvenience for some of our customers, the improvements really are essential if we are to secure the long-term future of the facility and to mitigate some of the impact of rising operating costs. 

"We’ve scheduled the closure for the quietest period in the year, in order to minimise disruption and look forward to welcoming our skaters back in the early autumn to a much-improved rink.”