A mum-of-three has hit out at a leisure group after it scrapped its toddler soft play sessions.
Toddlers World, which used to run three times a week, provided a safe space for young children to play using bouncy castles, soft blocks and balls in the sports hall of Clissold Lesiure Centre.
But leisure provider Better, which runs the centre for Hackney Council, scrapped the sessions after opening a new permanent soft play space in the building.
Katherine McIntyre, a mum-of-three from Stoke Newington, told the Hackney Gazette parents were devastated at the loss of a “precious community resource”, and had started a petition against the changes.
While the new play area has a toddlers’ space, she said this is hard for parents to access and unsupervised by leisure centre staff.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to has said they have not felt like their toddler has been safe there,” she added.
“Toddlers have been bowled over by older kids marauding around that area, which is really dangerous.”
Katherine added that while the new soft play area was welcome, it serves different children to Toddlers World.
“In this country, we have terrible weather and almost no places inside where children can play,” she explained.
“It’s particularly an acute problem for low-income people who don’t have a massive house or garden – which is also basically most of Hackney.
“There’s a desperate need for indoor spaces to be provided by the council or subsidised.
“Toddler’s World was really unique in being one, and that was brilliant.”
Katherine added that her two eldest children had benefited from the sessions, and that it would be “really sad” if her newborn, Arthur, did not have the same chance.
Contacted about Katherine’s concerns, Better said it would be reinstating Toddlers World’s again from September.
A spokesperson said: “Clissold Leisure Centre is a family-friendly facility with a strong junior offer thanks to the investment in the incredibly popular new soft play – which, like Toddlers World, is supervised by parents.
“We are very proud to have been able to create a safe, inclusive and affordable centre for the local community offering unparalleled access – with over 6,000 children and families attending the soft play in its first four weeks.”
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