A VITAL lifeline for young and disabled people in Slough is set to fall victim to a political wrangle that has engulfed the town.

A request for a special cabinet meeting, to approve a temporary ice rink while Slough Ice Arena is refurbished, has been blocked by the newly elected mayor.

The Observer understands the decision on a temporary rink is an urgent one, since the supplier’s deadline is Tuesday and the meeting, which was requested by current council leader Rob Anderson, is due to take place the same day.

Election restrictions have meant it could not be discussed until now.

However, cllr Arvind Dhaliwal, mayor of Slough, refused permission – saying he had to follow rules which stipulate a special cabinet meeting cannot take place until after the upcoming leadership vote on cllr Anderson’s future, due to take place on June 6.

But, according to the town's constitution, there is in fact provision for the mayor to grant permission for a special meeting despite the current council turmoil.

Skating groups like SPICE (Special People On Ice), a group for young people with disabilities, who rely on the arena describe the latest decision as unfortunate.

Without a temporary solution, the groups claim they face collapse when the rink closes for nine months from October.

Cllr Dhaliwal said: “I have to be fair and law abiding. This thing was sitting on the agenda for a few months. If they were so keen why not take decisions sooner?”

A Labour councillor, who did not want to be named, told the Observer in order for the temporary rink to be successful, the council had to delay a housing development as well as allocating funds from its general reserves - neither are small tasks.

They said: “A non-political issue is being made political.

"It’s quite galling that a decision on this has been blocked by the mayor.”

Ricci Hodgson, founder of SPICE said: “I would hope that Slough council could put aside their differences and support young vulnerable people.”

The extraordinary meeting will be taking place on Monday, June 6, to vote on a motion calling for cllr Anderson to step down as leader of the council.