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16

Jul 2020

Harrogate
Harrogate

Harrogate indoor play centre in fluffy Downing Street demo

Published: 16 Jul 2020, 17:42 BST

by Connor Creaghan

Comment

0

Today is the 120 day point since the closure. To mark the occasion Lisa travelled down to Westminster to demonstrate and to Downing Street to hand in a petition.

kidz-play-demo
Lisa Mee headed down to London today to hand in a petition and demonstrate.

The owner of a Harrogate indoor play centre has demanded the government gives her business the green light to reopen.

Lisa Mee runs Kidzplay Harrogate, which has been closed since the start of the coronavirus lockdown.

She has made every effort to make her play centre safe for children to return but indoor play centres are one of a few industries in England still closed.

Today is the 120 day point since the closure. To mark the occasion Lisa travelled down to Westminster to demonstrate and to Downing Street to hand in a petition.



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Nearly 20,000 people have signed the "Rescue Indoor Play" petition which claims that the government has overlooked children in its decisions.

Standing just outside Downing Street Lisa Mee told The Stray Ferret:

"Children between one and five years old are low risk when it comes to coronavirus. But when we keep them in isolation they are high risk for social and emotional development. A one-year-old came to the centre recently. They have spent half of their life with their parents and nobody else and they really struggled meeting other people, I fear for their future."




Lisa Mee also fears for the future of her business. With no concrete date of when she can reopen Kidzplay she could potentially have to pay some big bills going forward.

She managed to get a government loan but with the furlough scheme coming to an end she faces a £30,000 bill for her 30 staff. Without further help, Lisa may need to make some tough decisions.