A CHERISHED soft play centre has been saved from closure.
Boing! in Lockleaze was set to shut at the end of March because of a combination of rising costs and falling income.
But within days of the closure announcement, Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust (LNT) announced it would take on operation of the facility, which has been enjoyed by thousands of north Bristol children and families over the past 15 years.
Posting the good news on social media, the founder and CEO of Boing! Lockleaze, Richard Reddrop, enthused: “LNT have seen the love that you all have for Boing! and the amazing stories and outcomes, and they wanted to continue with some kind of softplay family support provision.”
He urged people to support the fundraiser for the provision.
“As a new provider and small charity, they are going to need some start-up funds to be able to deliver and manage initial insurance, staff costs etc, so any contribution is valued and absolutely crucial in order for softplay in Lockleaze to remain.” The LNT commented: “We were gutted to see Boing! close too, and so as the community hub in Lockleaze we decided to reopen the soft play ourselves after Easter. It’ll be the same space, the same fantastic team, and the same wonderful warm and welcoming atmosphere (including in the school holidays) – you’ll be able to book very similar Soft Play sessions on www.lockleazent.co.uk.”
Melissa Blackburn, CEO of the trust, added: “The Soft Play team are part of our LNT family and whilst we know that these are tough times, we found it really hard to imagine our building without the daily patter of small feet and pushchair wheels, and not hearing that end of session music that really gets into your head…so we decided to take the plunge to save it.”
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-the-lockleaze-soft-play