Play centre operator DP Leisure opens fourth 360 Play site

Milton Keynes, UK, based children’s play centre operator DP Leisure (DPL) has continued the expansion of its 360 Play children’s play centre brand with the opening of its fourth and largest venue, this time in Basildon in Essex.

The company currently operates sites in Milton Keynes, Stevenage and Leicester and following the on-going success of these three sites has continued the roll out of what is one of the UK’s leading children’s play centre brands by opening its largest venue to date at the Festival Leisure Park, Basildon.

As with the existing sites, design and master planning of this latest project, which is housed within a 28,000 sq. ft. building, was carried out by DPL’s sister company, DP Associates (DPA), who also project managed the build.

“We have been looking to open a fourth site for some time,” said 360 Play Managing Director Duncan Phillips, “and having seen the opportunity available in Basildon decided that Festival Leisure Park would be ideal for our next centre. We were also impressed with the plans the landlord, Aviva, had for the site in redeveloping it into even more of a family leisure destination and we have become a key part of this project. I’m confident we’ll enjoy a great deal of success there as we have done at our other three locations over the years.”

360 Play is a recognised expert in children’s and family entertainment. All its centres are carefully designed to ensure a stimulating, creative, imaginative and active play environment for children aged 2 to 12, and with everything also designed so that adults can join in too, the venues offer a genuine family day out opportunity.

At Basildon, the company has maintained its ethos of utilising local companies and trades people for all the on-site building work, while the new centre has also created 50 new jobs for locals in Basildon and the surrounding areas.

“We design each centre at our offices in Milton Keynes and build much of the content for our sites in our own workshops,” Phillips explained. “However, once on site there is obviously a requirement for numerous trades and we always source these from the local area. We’ve had an excellent team working in Basildon and it’s hugely satisfying to see all the hard work everyone has put in now having come to fruition.”

The attractions at 360 Play Basildon, which are spread over two floors, are similar to those at the company’s other centres, while also including some new ones. Among these are a four storey central play frame, supplied by Soft Brick Company and incorporating a host of climbing, sliding, crawling and other activities, a dodgem car track and carousel from IE Park/SOLI Bumper Cars, specially designed climbing walls which utilise auto-belays and climber timers from Innovative Leisure, and the creative play area 360 Street. This features the familiar series of play shops and other ‘buildings,’ including a supermarket, pizza parlour, vets, fire station, garage, post office and more.

A special party zone, messy play and a dedicated toddlers’ area are also on offer, while the Club 360 outdoor play area will be an added attraction in the summer months (weather permitting) and will feature sand play, water play areas, a climb zone and more. A café serving a wide assortment of drinks, refreshments and freshly cooked food choices is also available, as are seating areas throughout the building.