A children’s centre in Southport which provided thousands of free meals to vulnerable people in the local community will temporarily close this Friday.
After the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in March, Playtown owners Louie and Tanya Gaffney opened their kitchens so they could cook and deliver over 4,000 meals to elderly and vulnerable people across Southport.
Last Wednesday (14 October) the Government announced new Tier 3 Covid restrictions for Southport and the rest of the Liverpool City Region which saw gyms told to close but play centres allowed to remain open, the opposite to restrictions in neighbouring Lancashire.
There has today been a change with gyms in Southport and across Merseyside now allowed to reopen, however play centres such as Playtown, at Ocean Plaza, have been told to temporarily close.
Playtown owners Louie and Tanya Gaffney said: “The decision has been made for soft plays in our region to close by midnight tomorrow (Friday 00:01 hours).
“So today and tomorrow will be the last chance of coming for a short period if you would like to come and show your support.
“Thank you to every single one of you who have been in since opening it really does mean the world to us.
“We have tried our absolute best to keep the place as sterile / clean as possible, spending thousands of pounds in the process. If you can find a place with more Covid safety features please let us know.
“We were the last to reopen and now one of the first to close and it’s utterly soul destroying.
“But despite that it’s with a massively heavy heart that we have to close from tomorrow evening giving us just over 24 hours notice.
“If you have a booking after that time please do not attend as we won’t be open I’m afraid and there are far too many for me to contact. The Halloween parties will not be going ahead I’m afraid and we can only apologise on behalf of the government.
“We are so sorry for this and the devastatingly short notice they have given us.
“We will be back…and we will be bigger and better than ever we promise.
“All our love
“Louie, Tanya and the playtown family.”
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