Attraction forced to stay closed due to Covid rule change
OWNERS DISAPPOINTED GHETTOPARK WILL HAVE TO REMAIN SHUT UNTIL MAY 17
A HUGELY popular children’s attraction was dealt a cruel blow when a last-minute change in coronavirus regulations delayed its reopening by several more weeks. Only two days before it was due to reopen on April 12, Ghettopark, on Garibaldi Street in Grimsby, received clarification it had been dreading that confirmed it would not be able to open as planned. Company director Pam Wilson discovered if they were to reopen, they were only permitted 15 users at a time - making the attraction unviable.
She said: “We’d been keeping an eye on the guidance and on what all the other indoor skateparks were doing to make sure that we could go ahead. We had everything in place getting ready to go.
“On the Friday [April 9] I noticed that some other parks were posting about a section of the guidance which said we’d be limited to 15 people in a session.
“We quickly realised we wouldn’t be able to open when we read up on it. We’re a massive venue and we can often have up to 150 in here during normal times.
“If we opened up at 15 a session we’d risk losing a lot of money and putting all the work we’ve done at risk. I’m gutted to have to say we decided not to open as planned.”
Government guidance on reopening out-of-school indoor sports settings states that all children can take part in supervised activities, including sport and physical activity subject to restrictions.
The restrictions are on the size of the group as set out in the out-ofschool settings guidance which limits groups to 15 participants.
It goes on to state that mixed age sessions are not permitted, adults should not take part in sessions that include children and children should not take part in sessions that include adults.
According to the Government’s roadmap, May 17 is the next target date for step three when most indoor venues such pubs and restaurants, hotels, play centres, cinemas, museums and group exercise classes can reopen.
Despite the delay, Pam remains positive. She said: “It is a long time to be closed but we’ve been working non-stop for seven years so it is nice to have a break in a way.
“Seriously though, we’ve been lucky to get the government grants that have helped to keep us afloat and we’ve even been able to spend some time making some muchneeded upgrades to the park. “When people are eventually allowed back in they’re going to see a lot of the positive hard work that we’ve put in despite being closed. “I just hope we all stick to the rules so we’re able to open as planned on May 17.”
To keep up-to-date about what is happening with Ghettopark you can visit their Facebook page or their website at www.ghettopark.co.uk