Northampton's biggest soft play centre makes a huge u-turn and decides to open its doors to the public after months of devastating closure

After saying 'goodbye for now' at the end of July, the owners of the Riverside Hub have bravely decided to open their doors to little ones once again.

Frustrated owners Ellis and Valentina Potter have toyed back and fourth with the idea of opening their beloved soft play centre which was closed for more than four months.

The business was costing them £1,000 a day to close throughout lockdown, with no direction from the government as to when soft play would be able to safely return.

And just when customers thought it would be weeks before a reopening came, Ellis and Valentina surprised everyone with the news at the weekend that they would be reopening.

Ellis said: "I know, I did say that we were closing for some time, as the cases in Northamptonshire were on the rise and the council was threatening a local lockdown.

"However, the numbers are quite steady now, and it looks like we all must learn to live with it for the forseeable future.

"In line with Government guidance our soft-play must remain closed, but we now have the green light to open the rest of our facilities."

Go-karts, laser tag, under 2's area, under 5's area, toddler village, sensory rooms, climbing tree, space golf, carousel, creative studio, interactive climbing walls are all open.

They are operating with a massively reduced capacity so booking online is essential, with 30% off admission being offered to compensate for the soft play frame being closed.

Ellis said today (Monday): "We've had enough of the Hub being a ghost town and have really missed you all.

"It feels great to be back open. I can't tell you how nice it is to see smiling families back at the Hub."

The Hub, in Carousel Way, opened yesterday (Sunday) and from Monday to Wednesday will be offering the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

Ellis continued: "The Hub can offer more space for social distancing then any pub or restaurant, and we have put in place more Covid-secure practices than anywhere I've heard of.

"We always had a good lunch menu at the Hub, but Valentina has now created new breakfast and dinner menus as well."