Little Play Village was opened on Hadleigh’s London Road by Holly Woodford in mid-November after noticing a lack of parent-friendly children’s play venues.
The centre features a miniature village with a vets, post office, fire station, construction site, café, salon and nursery (Image: Holly Woodford) The centre features a miniature village complete with a vet clinic, post office, fire station, construction site, café, salon and nursery.
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Holly, 35, said: “We’ve been fully booked since we opened and the whole thing has been a bit of a whirlwind.
“I expected the first few weeks to be busy, but we’ve had people coming in five or six times now. We’ve got a little community of regulars, but everyone seems to love it.”
There’s even a miniature salon! (Image: Holly Woodford) Holly decided to build her own children’s play venue after noticing a lack of options that worked for both parents and children when she had her own daughter.
“We’re getting a lot of feedback about how are staff are really welcoming, but also how the space is fun for the kids and also very relaxing for the adults – which is fantastic as that was the whole purpose of Little Play Village,” she said.
Adding: “We haven’t had a single child that haven’t enjoyed it yet.
“More often than not, when it’s time to leave, we’ll have multiple kids crying as they want to stay longer.
“We’ve even started doing things to help parents wrap things up easier, such as putting the toys to bed with the children.”
Holly has been supported by husband, Rob. The couple is picture here with daughter, Millie (Image: Holly Woodford) Having worked a demanding office job in London prior to opening Little Play Village, Holly said she has been enjoying the change of pace, despite the demands of being self-employed.
“It is tiring as we’re just so busy, especially now that we’re doing birthday parties on the weekends, but I really do love it.
“Coming from quite a boring and traditional office job previously, it’s been great coming into work every day and loving what I am doing,” she said.
An in-house café gives parents somewhere to relax and chat (Image: Holly Woodford) Little Play Village is open Monday to Friday, with four play slots throughout the day. The venue can also be booked for exclusive hire on Saturdays.
You can book your visit at littleplayvillage.co.uk