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Chronicle Live
National
Katie Anderson

Soft play centre in Newcastle city centre set to reopen nearly two years after it closed due to Covid

A soft play centre in the heart of Newcastle is set to reopen for the first time since March 2020, with the hope of attracting families back.

Eldon Leisure was one of three sites left closed indefinitely by leisure operator GLL when it announced 35 job losses in the city in September 2020, having been shut since the first wave of the pandemic hit.

The company is now preparing to relaunch both its soft play and ten pin bowling offer at the Eldon Square site.

Go here for the latest news live from Newcastle city centre

The soft play facility will open from February 14, 10am to 5pm seven days a week - now with an exciting monkey theme to engage and delight small children and parents alike.

The spacious venue can take 50 children per hour, with parents invited to relax in the 100 capacity seating area and watch their little ones.

Later this Spring, the Ten Pin Bowling reopens with a new look incorporating competitive socialising, a new bar, games and BT Sports screens.

Better Partnership Manager Alison Westworth said: "We can't wait to welcome local families to Eldon Soft Play on 14 February.

"Staff are making the final touches to what we think will be a very popular draw in Newcastle.

"When the Ten Pin Bowling opens later this Spring, we will offer a great leisure destination for both the local community and visitors to the city."

The Eldon Leisure news follows operator GLL reopening one of its other mothballed sites, the indoor facilities at the Walker Activity Dome, in April 2021.

The company's popular outer west pool remains closed, with Newcastle City Council revealing plans and securing funds for a new carbon-neutral £22m complex on the site.

The announcement came after months of outcry that the pool has been left closed and complaints that the initial council plans to replace it with a £2.3m modular facility represented a downgrade.

Both the swimming pool and the other existing facilities in West Denton Way are set to be demolished to make way for the replacement, which it is hoped can be open in 2024.

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