Banbury children's soft play centre reopens with completion of major refurbishments

Rugrats & Halfpints, a children's sensory and soft play centre located in Beaumont Road, Banbury, has reopened today (Monday May 17) to customers.

Caroline Bevan the owner of the business, took to social media to show people some o changes the team at the play centre made while closed during the Covid-19 lockdown.

She said: "We are looking forward to welcoming all our guests back to the Banbury unit. We have been busy whilst we were closed down and have refurbished the place.

"One of the biggest changes is we have invested in a fresh air system which will bring 20,000 litres of fresh air into the building every hour. So the air in the centre is being constantly refreshed. The air will also be cooled so that the unit will be colder and feel fresher during any hot spells."

Caroline opened the Rugrats and Halfpints business in Banbury in 2007, and at the time it was the first sensory soft play centre in the UK.

She said: "The business has been very successful and we achieved a certificate of excellence from TripAdvisor for five years in a row. So, we are now in their Hall of Fame."

She later expanded and opened another similar business in Cirencester. Now both units have achieved the Travellers' Choice award.

The Banbury indoor soft play centre will be working with reduced capacity of 40 per cent, so the centre should not be too busy at any time.

In response to Covid-19 they have increased their safety and hygiene measures. They have implemented new procedures, and purchased new equipment for the centre.

Caroline added: "We continue to clean down the centre between sessions with Steri Guard which remains active for 30 days. Nightly we will continue to fog the whole centre with Steri Guard.

"Masks are required as per the last opening and temperatures will be taken on arrival."

As part of the refurbishments they have new flooring throughout the centre, which is karndean throughout. They have also added vinyl flooring to the party rooms, redecorated the corridor area, and completely gutted the party room. Their next project is an update to the bathrooms.

The play centre is also looking anyone interested in hiring the party room for small business use such as a hair dresser, beautician or nail bar.

Anyone interested in hiring out the small business space can sent Rugrats & Halfpints a direct message on its Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/rugratsandhalfpintsbanbury/Anyone interested in booking a place at the play centre can use their website for booking here: www.rugratsandhalf pints.com.

Caroline added: "We can’t wait to see you all again and we hope you enjoy the new menu."