Stockeld Park is set to open its £3.5 million children’s play centre to the public this weekend.

The Playhive, set over 20,000 square feet, is one of Europe’s largest indoor play centres. It will open for the first time on Saturday.

The play centre has space, aeronautical, subaquatic and jungle themed areas, which are all connected by a 33-feet tall tower, which also comes with giant slides and a toddler zone.

Playhive also includes a football pitch-sized area filled with play equipment and a pizzeria for families to enjoy after a day of play.

The different zones are all connected by a large tower.

With capacity for 400 visitors at a time, Stockeld Park believes that the new venture will come as a welcome boost for Wetherby and Spofforth’s economy.

The Playhive has created 50 jobs.

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It was the brainchild of park owners Peter and Susie Grant, who wanted to create an all-weather space where adults and children can explore, learn and play together.

It is one of the largest indoor play centres in Europe.

Peter Grant said:

“Susie and I are so excited to finally see the Playhive come to life – a passion project of ours for years, it’s great to see the final result come together exactly as we envisioned.

“We wanted to move away from the traditional soft play scene whilst also encouraging play and imagination in the kids that attend Stockeld Park each year.

“One of the most incredible parts of the Playhive is that it allows for all occasion play – ideal for those rainy Yorkshire days!”

Tickets to the Adventure Park and Playhive cost £19.50 and can be purchased here.

A Harrogate indoor play centre is hoping to raise £3,500 with a raffle before it opens its doors on May 17 as lockdown restrictions ease.

World of their Own, which is based at Hornbeam Park, has been hit particularly hard over the past year: since March 2020 it has only been able to open for 10 weeks.

Although its owners have no intention of closing down and are determined to find the cash somehow, they hope the raffle will cover the costs.

Both Winkies Harrogate, which was based in Starbeck, and Goose, which was based at Hornbeam Park, have permanently closed as a result of the pandemic.

It means that Harrogate now only has two indoor play centres in World of their Own and Little Bees Harrogate, formerly Kidzplay.

Christa and Lee Webber, of World of their Own, have said that while they have made full use of government grants and have a supportive landlord, they still have a funding gap.

To plug that gap they are raffling off a year’s unlimited play pass, afternoon tea in the fairytale parlour for four and a wild west birthday party for 20 children.

There are 700 tickets available at £5.50 per ticket. So far they have sold 185 tickets and the deadline to buy a ticket is at 5pm on May 1. Raffall, the platform they are using, takes a 10% cut.

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Crista Webber told the Stray Ferret how this funding gap is their final hurdle:

“Every ticket sold is a massive help. We have been very frugal over the last year. When we needed to develop more space upstairs Lee built it by hand.

“We will reopen no matter what happens. If we cannot reach the £3,500 then we will need to find the money another way.

“We opened a World of their Own and it was just two months before the pandemic hit. Since then it has been an incredible struggle, which we hope we are coming to the end of.”

The government dealt an indoor play centre in Harrogate a devastating blow in its coronavirus update today.

Kidzplay Harrogate has kept a keen eye on the lockdown easing throughout hoping for the green light.

Owner Lisa Mee has been putting on the pressure and even attended a demonstration in London yesterday alongside others in the industry.

However, this morning Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that while most industries can now open indoor play centres and night clubs cannot.

Lisa Mee told The Stray Ferret that it was “devastating” to hear that she cannot reopen and questioned the logic behind the decision.

“I think, based on the conversations I’ve had with others in the industry, it’s the end of indoor play. If we were in Scotland, Wales or Ireland we would be able to open. I don’t understand the logic.”

The Stray Ferret has approached government press offices and Andrew Jones MP to ask about extra support for Kidzplay Harrogate but had no reply.

Kidzplay Harrogate will have to close without a government u-turn.