THE boss of a soft play centre has warned it still faces a difficult future, despite being able to open for the first time in 16 months.

Pandamonium, in Erskine, was forced to keep its doors closed throughout the Covid pandemic as it was placed in the same ‘high risk’ category as nightclubs, casinos and theatres.

Manager Jennifer McNaughton says it is a miracle that staff were able to open at all on Monday, as Scotland moved to Level 0.

But she still fears for Pandamonium going forward, after the Scottish Government imposed strict reopening conditions.

Due to social distancing rules, the centre can only operate at 60% capacity.

Parents must book places for their children in advance and the venue has to close for 30 minutes after each session, so a deep clean can take place.

Out of 141 soft play centres in Scotland, only 89 were due to reopen on Monday.

Jennifer told The Gazette: “We have been closed as a soft play area since March 2020. Everyone has been on furlough, so it has really been a tough time.

“We have also been fighting for grants from the Scottish Government. We were given £750 a week to be shut but that didn’t cover the cost of a mortgage over a month, never mind everything else.

“It has been a really tough time and we have had to survive without any real help or support. No-one from the council or any councillors have been out to see us.

“Soft play areas have had to support each other.”

Pandamonium, which began trading in 2012, makes around £850,000 in a normal year.

Jennifer added: “We haven’t been told when we will be able to operate as normal and at full capacity.

“We’ll be lucky to break even, now there is no government safety net.

“We are also opening at the worst time, when it is sunny. We are a winter business.

“I am one hundred per cent surprised that we have managed to survive this and we are still here.

“There is also the worry of another lockdown. We are still fighting for our future.”

Last month, Pandamonium staff joined other soft play centre workers at Holyrood to urge the Scottish Government to lift restrictions.

Similar centres in England have been open since May and were also allowed to trade last year as lockdown restrictions were eased.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “From July 19, all parts of Scotland not currently there moved to Level 0 and the physical distancing requirement reduced to one metre.

“This was good news for the soft play sector, as all soft play centres will be able to open while adhering to some necessary public health measures.

“We have always adopted a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions as we seek to balance the desire to protect public health with reopening the economy.”