Mrs Contractor Mum you are probably right. This is an easy out for the council and let's not forget that HMRC will also be enjoying 20% of all the revenue. There is no tax break for indoor or outdoor play providers, even those like us who provide educational environment. It's a win win for the government.
:(

Mrs Contractor Mum you are probably right. This is an easy out for the council and let's not forget that HMRC will also be enjoying 20% of all the revenue. There is no tax break for indoor or outdoor play providers, even those like us who provide educational environment. It's a win win for the government.
:(

My prediction - 5 years time Battersea Park will be entrance fee only, similar to Kew Gardens. It's being readied for the new Nine Elms regeneration which will bring in a lot of money and a maintained pay entry garden next to the river will serve the new arrivals well.

The line being that Clapham Common will be close enough for free play space etc for those that don't want to pay.

I am sure Go Ape will be a tremendous success - there is plenty of money in London that will be attracted by it especially those that don't have the Park as their only play area on their doorstep.

However, I do think its a shame they closed down a free adventure play facility that was available to all, replaced it with a sanitised playground that doesn't really challenge children over the age of 9 and have replaced the challenge aspect with a commercial proposition that instead of making it available to all makes it available to all that can afford it.

Still, the makeup of Wandsworth has changed significantly over the last 40 years and I guess the concern for making things available to all isn't considered relevant to Wandsworth or the majority of its residents anymore.

This is truly great news!

My two cannot wait...the only problem I see is that it will be too popular - but I guess we will have to live with that!

This is truly great news!

My two cannot wait...the only problem I see is that it will be too popular - but I guess we will have to live with that!

[quote="eddiecatz"]Hi I am Maria, the owner of Eddie Catz playcentres and Mom of 2.

Sorry if I jump in here, but I feel that I need to point out that a business of this nature does have costs and although it may seem horrendous it is what needs to be charged to make the business viable. The company is run by entrepreneurs who are great guys and well respected in our industry. Yes, it is not inexpensive, but I paid £9.70 for my kids to sit through a (bad) 2 hour movie the other day and with popcorn, drinks parking and the lot it was almost £60!!

Running businesses that involve adventure play is expensive. Aside from insurance, maintenance and staffing there is everything that happens in the background that customers do not see. I say this as a business owner, but I am also the mother of 2 young teens. We have done the Go Ape experience and our kids loved it and I was delighted to get them to experience challenges beyond the padded play spaces of an Eddie Catz.

I am sure I will get some stick from these comments which really come from the heart, but the rising costs of running a business are out of control.

I look forward to seeing Go Ape open and see you there. Even if we can only afford a once and a while visit (and that includes me!) it's worth it.

Maria J[/quote]
Totally understand Maria. Thanks for your reply.

I'm still shocked at the pricing, I thought it was cheaper but i don't know much about it tbf.

But there's two sides to things and i'm currently on your side of things with my football project. I'd love to make it as cheap as possible but paying for pitch hire and insurance etc makes it so tough.

So i feel your pain lol.

Go Ape is wonderful I am sure. I don't like to see public spaces taken over by commercial enterprises. On the other hand I can see that Wandsworth Council want to generate revenue to support the free public playgrounds.

The thing that makes me sad is that I am sure there will be parents at the public playground whose children will see Go Ape and ask to go on it and will have to say no because of the cost. Of course we can't shield our children from realising that other children's parents have more money / spend more money on them, and it's not a bad thing for children to realise that. But it is sad that Go Ape in Battersea Park will be a demonstration of our two tier society - with the rich in the trees and the rest below.

Hi I am Maria, the owner of Eddie Catz playcentres and Mom of 2.

Sorry if I jump in here, but I feel that I need to point out that a business of this nature does have costs and although it may seem horrendous it is what needs to be charged to make the business viable. The company is run by entrepreneurs who are great guys and well respected in our industry. Yes, it is not inexpensive, but I paid £9.70 for my kids to sit through a (bad) 2 hour movie the other day and with popcorn, drinks parking and the lot it was almost £60!!

Running businesses that involve adventure play is expensive. Aside from insurance, maintenance and staffing there is everything that happens in the background that customers do not see. I say this as a business owner, but I am also the mother of 2 young teens. We have done the Go Ape experience and our kids loved it and I was delighted to get them to experience challenges beyond the padded play spaces of an Eddie Catz.

I am sure I will get some stick from these comments which really come from the heart, but the rising costs of running a business are out of control.

I look forward to seeing Go Ape open and see you there. Even if we can only afford a once and a while visit (and that includes me!) it's worth it.

Maria J

[quote="upseydaisy"]Hi All,
There are limited facilities which will be free. The Evening Standard had a write up about it last night 20th Jan. The costs are horrendous!
£24 for kids and £32 for adults! Somehow I think a number of people will have reservations about paying that kind of money if you have more than one child. Costs are ridiculous![/quote]
I agree, It looks really fun but the price is a bit of a shock for me.

This is what I call good news! My little cousins will love it :)
Thank you Annabel!

The face value is expensive but the value for money is great!

When will they be opening? Does anybody know how many trail level they would have?

We've done Go Ape a few times in Hampshire and it's important to realise the other ones in the UK are not casual play spaces.

They're over two and a half hours, from arriving to leaving, with proper safety briefings/equipments and some pretty major structural work to build the areas themselves.

I'd think of it more like a trip Go Karting or paint balling as opposed to a casual pay and play.

Not saying its not expensive, it is, but it's a great time

Hi All,
There are limited facilities which will be free. The Evening Standard had a write up about it last night 20th Jan. The costs are horrendous!
£24 for kids and £32 for adults! Somehow I think a number of people will have reservations about paying that kind of money if you have more than one child. Costs are ridiculous!

Hi All,

There will be a cost for the Go Ape facility, the recently installed adventure park is free to use. Apologies if it's not clear ;)

A x

Brilliant! Let's hope it happens (Dangalf...no way will it be free!) and without delay.