Making the announcement last night, Mr Johnson said that soft play centres, along with indoor theatres, performance venues and other leisure venues, will be permitted to reopen this weekend.
The move forms part of the Government’s ‘road map to recovery’ after Covid-19 lockdown.
Writing on Facebook, Little Monsters House of Fun in Dunmow, Essex, said, ‘Following the good news from the Government, Little Monsters will now be able to re-open. Once we have had a chance to digest the strict guidelines and can ensure we have the correct safety measures in place. We will post a reopening date.’
Soft play centres were originally due to reopen again last month, but the date was pushed back by the Government.
The news comes days after indoor play centres in Wales reopened on 10 August. Under the reopening plans, the Welsh Government confirmed that areas such as ball pits, which cannot be cleaned easily, must remain closed. Reports suggest the same rule applies to England.
Just last month, soft play operators warned they were ‘heading for a cliff edge’ after months of being closed and with no date for reopening.
According to a report on the potential impact to the UK indoor play sector from the trade body representing British leisure parks, piers and attractions, BALPPA, 64 per cent of the sector faced closure by October without further support. It found that many had already closed for good.
A petition, #RescueIndoorPlay, calling on the Government to make a decision about reopening or to offer more financial support, received more than 31,000 signatures.
The petition states, ‘Throughout this pandemic, children have been an overlooked group in decisions taken by the Government. The mental and physical health of children is especially important in an age group that is least vulnerable to the virus and also least able to comprehend the enormity of the situation.’
