Kidz Play chief: We are on our knees
The boss of South Ayrshire’s biggest soft play centre this week made a desperate plea on behalf of her “forgotten sector”.
Marilyn Miller, who owns Kidz Play in Prestwick, says seven months of government- imposed lockdown has left her business on its knees.
And after building up the popular centre over the last nine years, she fears what a winter shutdown will mean for the future.
Marilyn told the Post: “We haven’t been able to open our doors since March and feel completely forgotten by the government.
“Our industry feels completely targeted. “They seem to have put us in the same category as the likes of nightclubs, which just doesn’t make sense.
“Children under 12 don’t need to social distance, so where is the reasoning for us staying closed?”
Marilyn and husband, John, have headed up the popular attraction since 2011 and ploughed huge time and investment into its success – all of which they now fear is at threat.
Kidz Play, which was named Scottish Soft Play Centre of the Year in 2019, is among those battling for survival with a bleak winter ahead.
And Marilyn revealed: “We’ve had to let go 25 of our casual seasonal staff, many of whom were young people working their first jobs.
“We thought we were going to get the green light to re- open in September and
invested in all sorts of new equipment and staff training.
“But then everything changed again and it all seems further away than ever.
“And the most frustrating thing is the lack of consistency in the rules.
“There’s talk of financial support coming and a pressure group has been set up for soft plays across the country.
“But nothing seems to be clear and accessing the funding is not quick or easy.”
Marilyn and her team will re- open their cafe this week in a bid to salvage at least some trade.
And she said: “We’ll keep fighting on because it’s the only thing you can do, and the messages of support from our loyal customers have meant so much.
“But it’s very hard to see light at the
end of the tunnel when you listen to the government speak – and that’s the most difficult thing.
“Hope is really the only thing that is keeping us going right now.”
Ayr MSP John Scott is pushing the cause of centres like Kidz Play in Holyrood and insisted more support should be forthcoming.
He said: “Most will have received no grant support whatsoever from the Scottish Government since the Spring, if they received any at all.
“It’s right that public health comes first and everyone understands the need for continuing caution, but it’s also not fair that soft play centres, along with other businesses like mobile beauticians and therapists, still have no indication of when they can trade again.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We do not underestimate the severe impact this pandemic has had on play centres across Scotland – but we are at a critical point, the virus is rising again and everyone must play their part in stopping its spread in Scotland.
“Provisional guidance for the reopening of soft plays will be published shortly to allow businesses to prepare to re- open.
“A date for soft plays to re- open will be set when it is deemed safe to do so.”
They added: “A new £ 11 million Contingency fund will help businesses impacted by restrictions to slow the spread of COVID- 19 – this includes support for soft play centres.”