A new bid to have a festive ice rink installed in the Dane John Gardens in Canterbury for next Christmas is expected to be launched by the city council.

But this time, it will commission an experienced operator to avoid the calamitous situtation in December when a rink was left unfinished and dozens of ticket holders disappointed.

It had been promised by Noah and the Shed, who also provide the stalls for the Christmas market.

But the company had to abandon to project, largely due to escalating costs which rose from £80,000 to £120,000, and overstretched its resources.

On Monday night, members of the city council's Canterbury Area Member Panel will hear a report on why the project failed, including how there was too shorter time for the company involved to prepare and examine all the logistics.

It also says that while supportive of the idea, no council money was put into the project.

The council's commissions manager Sarah Randall adds: "Despite the failure of the venture, there was significant press and social media coverage of the ice rink indicating demand for this sort of activity.

"On the basis of this, consideration is being given to delivering an ice rink for this Christmas, but doing so through a procurement exercise.

"In this way, the council can clearly set out its expectations, assess the comptency of the provider and have more input over quality.

"It is proposed to run this as a one-year pilot contract in order to determine the economic benefit to the district and assess any logistical issues which can be addressed in future years."