Children's role play centre opens in Northumberland…

Children's role play centre opens in Northumberland following five-figure investment

A role play centre for young children has opened its doors in a Northumberland town following a five-figure investment.

Little Morpeth’s play space, based on Grange Road, features a number of themed areas loosely based on locations within the town which are equipped with all the costumes, toys and accessories needed for imaginative play. The business has been set up by qualified teacher Steffanie Parrott, who wanted to offer play facilities to families which fill a gap in the market - having realised there were no similar facilities to her vision anywhere further north in Northumberland.

The £18,000 Small Loan Fund investment, obtained through regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers, has supported the fit-out of the new attraction and will also help with recruitment and marketing activity around the launch. Three new jobs have been created at the new venue, with more expected to follow.

Little Morpeth’s ‘mini town’ features locations including a supermarket, fire station, police station, vet practice, a construction site and a nursery. A baby sensory area has also been created for very young children, along with a reading corner featuring a tepee and a café area offering a place where parents, carers and grandparents can watch their little ones.

Longer term, Ms Parrott is potentially looking to open similar facilities in other North East locations. She said: “Imaginative play is an absolutely essential part of children’s development and the facilities we’re providing offer every opportunity for young imaginations to run wild.

“Little Morpeth is unique and encompasses many elements I have sometimes found unavailable when visiting other play venues or have thought to myself that it would be good to have there. The good transport links the town offers will make it easy for families to travel from right across the surrounding area to visit us.

“I’m excited to be able to show everyone what’s on offer at Little Morpeth and if the right locations come up I’m open to looking at creating more ‘Little towns’ in other places around the region. The investment options NEL provided gave me the flexibility I needed and the process of securing the money was straightforward, quick and easy after sharing my plans and ideas for the business with them.”

Mike Guellard, senior investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, added: “This is a brilliant concept which will appeal to children and parents alike and we’re very pleased to have helped Steffanie bring her ideas to life.”

Part of the £120m North East Fund and aimed predominantly at smaller SMEs, the £9m North East Small Loan Fund typically offers loans of between £10,000 and £100,000 to businesses in Tyne and Wear, Durham and Northumberland.