Poulton play centre closes due to COVID-19

Thingamajigz, which is situated on an industrial park in Furness Drive, off Garstang Road East, shut its doors yesterday and said it will remain closed until further notice.

The play centre reopened on August 24 after it had been forced to close for four months during lockdown.

But after three weeks of working within the strict parameters of the Government's safety restrictions, management concluded that the business was no longer 'viable'.

They said the business had become unsustainable and had suffered from a sharp decline in visitor numbers due to the pandemic.

It hosted a play session for the final time yesterday (Sunday, September 13), before shutting its doors for the foreseeable future at 3pm.

Twenty members of staff had previously been furloughed and will now be seeking alternative employment.

Yesterday, management said: "It is with great sadness that we announce that Thingamajigz will close its doors today (Sunday, September 13) at 3pm until further notice.

"The current restrictions on numbers and operating hours, along with public concern over the ongoing pandemic, have meant that it is simply not viable to remain open.

"Our last session will be between 1pm and 3pm, Sunday, September 13, 2020.

"We thank the many customers that have supported us during this challenging time, and we do understand those that have felt they weren't yet ready to return.

"We hope to see you all again in the future, but we cannot say when that will be at this time."

In August, owners Steven and Helen Gartside warned that Lancashire's indoor play areas faced an uncertain future due to lockdown.

Mr Gartside told the Gazette that he could not rule out a permanent closure, without clearer guidance from the Government as to how play areas could continue to operate,

He said: "We have 20 furloughed staff, and we can't reopen until we're told it's safe to.

"I wouldn't want to push to reopen earlier - I will do so when it's deemed safe.

"But we need some sort of guidance as to when we can expect to reopen. At least then we could prepare for it.

"Our freezers are burning electric, and we're still paying hundreds of pounds a month in bills. We could probably manage until early next year like this, but if we couldn't reopen until later than that then we may not reopen at all.

"If the Government considers us unsafe to open that's fine, but we need to be compensated for it after the furlough scheme comes to an end."