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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Claire Lindsay

Closure of Glenrothes 'disability safe haven' leaves special needs kids nowhere to go

THE sudden closure of Xtreme Trampoline Park in Glenrothes has left parents of children with special needs and disabilities with "no other options" for local activities.

On June 1, the facility was forced to unexpectedly close its doors after the termination of its lease at Saltire Retail Park, to make way for a Poundstretcher.

The trampoline park is also urging people with pre-made bookings for parties to email them to discuss handing out refunds as soon as possible.



The eviction caused fury among local residents, with over 1800 signing a petition to stop the closure from going ahead.

The trampoline park indicated it was involved in "positive talks" to move the venue to another site following the outpouring of support from locals, but has not yet confirmed a new location. 

Sessions cost £11 when booked online and allowed parents and carers to enter for free when accompanying a participant, to provide support at any time.

The activities on offer included full access to all areas in the trampoline arena which contained a basketball area, wipeout system, parkour area, and more than 40 trampolines.

Single mother Amy McCutcheon, who attended the sessions with her children, said: “I have two kids under 10, one with autism and the other has learning difficulties and I think it’s disgusting how they've treated this place, especially as it's the only thing in Glenrothes that the children can do.

“It's a disability safe haven with the Rainbow Sessions and my children always loved going there and have benefitted from going on these day outs, but now that they're being taken away, what am I supposed to do I don't understand.

“Plenty of other parents of disabled children will be stuck with nothing to do with them now, as there is absolutely nothing left in the area. It's a disgrace.

"This also completely disrupts the children's schedule and I'm trying to cope with both of them when they have different needs.”



A statement on the park’s website and social media pages said that they were only made aware of the closure when it was published in a local newspaper.

"As it turns out, to our horror and utter devastation, the arrangements for our premises to be inhabited by another company had been orchestrated without our knowledge or consent since February 2022," a post from June 1 reads. 

"Our customers are now and have always been our main priority.

"We need each and every one of you to know we would have given as much notice as possible of anything happening to our park had we any insight to the plans being made."

In a message to supporters on Wednesday, the trampoline park said that supporters had made "miracles happen". 

"Thanks to everyone's incredible support, messages, emails ️and calls we are now in positive talks about relocating our park to another site in Glenrothes," a Facebook post said. 

"We honestly cannot thank you enough. We appreciate your patience as we navigate through the next steps but will of course keep everyone updated with any progress."

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