Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton highlighted the plight of businesses recovering from the pandemic, as he tackled the world’s longest soft play assault course.
The Edinburgh Western MSP said children’s soft play centres were among the businesses most impacted by coronavirus restrictions, and he called on the Scottish Government to take more action to help them bounce back.
Cole-Hamilton was speaking at the launch of the Tartan Titan - which now holds the record as the largest inflatable assault course - with his family at Conifox Adventure Park just outside Edinburgh.
As he replicated challenges similar to those seen in TV shows Gladiators and Total Wipeout, Cole-Hamilton said children’s play centres were left behind during the pandemic.
“They weren’t seen as hospitality, they weren’t educational so they didn’t get government funding, and some have really struggled to get up to speed.”
Asked if there had been adequate financial support for businesses during the pandemic, he said: “I don’t think the Scottish Government fully realises the implications of the measures that they asked, particularly children’s soft play centres, to introduce during Covid.
“It was leaving business owners to scramble around and come up with new ideas to come back up to speed.”
Soft play centres in Scotland were closed at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020 and many were among the last businesses to reopen over virus prevention concerns.
Cole-Hamilton called for further measures to help businesses recover from the pandemic as many grapple with workforce crises, stating that speeding up the process for Ukrainian refugees seeking asylum in Scotland would be a solution.
“We need to recognise that there are massive workforce shortages, particularly in hospitality,” he said, adding that assessing refugees’ skills quickly or connecting them with organisations could help.
Cole-Hamilton also said the impact of lockdown must be reflected in business rates and he called for the powers over rates to be given to local authorities.
The Tartan Titan officially broke the Guinness World Record by nearly 73 metres.
James Gammell, managing director of Conifox, said: “The Tartan Titan has been fantastically well-received and we’re absolutely delighted to be able to announce that it has been officially adjudicated as the world’s longest by the Guinness World Records.”
The assault course features 50 sections of obstacles including the Corkscrew, Wipe Out, Ninja Run and the Tidal Wave. Special challenge dates will be set when visitors can attempt to set a record time on the course.
The attraction, situated on the outskirts of the city’s Kirkliston area, is only available from 6 August until 16 August.
Glenn Pollard, official adjudicator for Guinness World Records, said it was a difficult achievement to reach.
He said: “It gives credibility to Conifox Adventure Park as well as anyone else who wants to come along and try and break it. Given the previous record has stood for four-and-a-half years they would have a very tough job ahead of them.”
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