Leura: Fairmont Resort to build region’s first ice rink

A popular family resort at Leura will add to its huge list of attractions after its proposal for an ice rink was approved.

Leura’s Fairmont Resort will open the Blue Mountains’ first ice rink after plans were approved by Blue Mountains Council earlier this week.

A brilliant new entertainment attraction planned for the tourist hub of the Blue Mountains has received the tick of approval more than three years after originally planned.

The Fairmont Hotel received notification from Blue Mountains Council on Tuesday that plans to build an ice-staking rink, the first of its kind in the Blue Mountains, were approved.

Owner of the resort, Dr Jerry Schwartz, first applied for a 26mx20m ice rink in 2017, expected to cost almost $700,000.

Dr Jerry Schwartz, who also owns Paradise Resort in Surfers Paradise, first submitted plans for the ice rink in 2017. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Another DA in late 2017 increased the size of the rink by 50 per cent, and another DA in 2018 applied for an almost $500,000 roof to be built over the top of the rink.

A fourth DA in 2019 added roofed access from the hotel, more toilets, and the conversion of a plant room to a kitchen server at a cost of $130,000.

The most recent DA was lodged in August that planned for the kitchen server area to be removed, the toilets relocated, and more storage and plant areas to be built.

Ice skating is one of the most popular leisure activities in the world. Pictured are skaters at an outdoor rink in Moscow. Picture: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP

The reception area will also change to a cafe for use with the new icerink and existing pool, and a new store room will be built to store ice skates.

A temporary floor will be available to convert the ice rink into a conference room when required.

The Fairmont Resort has been contacted for comment, but had not responded to the Blue Mountains News as of Friday afternoon.