New children’s play centre bring jobs boost for town

STRABANE is to receive a timely jobs boost in the coming months with the announcement of a children’s play centre opening on Railway Street.

The centre, which will be part of the Harry Jack’s complex and music venue, will create between 12 and 15 full-time positions when it opens.

The centre is the brainchild of John McGuinness, owner of Harry Jack’s, and he is pleased to see his long-held plan finally starting to come to fruition.

“The idea for a full indoor area where the young people of Strabane can go and enjoy themselves and be safe has always been something I wanted to achieve, and I’m thrilled to see it’s on the way.

“It will take up the whole of the first-floor level in Harry Jack’s with something for all ages,” he explained.

“We will have a soft play area, a ball pool, bouncy castle and climbing frame for the younger children. Going up, we will have an arcade and pool tables for the older children and a hot food counter. Also, we plan to offer catering for private parties for children of all ages.

“Ultimately the goal is to have a bowling alley in the complex, which will be a huge undertaking, but I understand that at the same time things need to be done in stages with this being the next logical step,” Mr McGuinness said.

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Spying an obvious gap in the market is one thing, but doing something about it is another and John says that there is a gap locally that has required plugging.

“There is clearly a market for catering to the younger generation who find themselves with nowhere to go or occupy their time, it’s something for which the town’s been crying out for many a year.

“Whether it be a mother with young children wanting to enjoy time in a soft play area or a teenager wanting the nightclub experience with a disco, we’ll be there to give them that experience. There’s plenty of scope within the building to achieve our goals.”

The development, which cost John estimates at £100,000, is still in the process of having building applications approved. Additionally, with materials coming from England, a journey John has had difficulties with in the past due to Brexit, there is a possibility for delays.

However, John does not foresee problems on either front. “I don’t think we’ll have a problem to be honest. This won’t be thrown together on a shoestring, I’m doing everything right, making sure every T is crossed and every I dotted. We have materials coming from England but, aside from possible delays, there shouldn’t be a problem putting them on a truck. Once it’s all done in the coming months hopefully, we’ll get certification and can open to the public.”

“As the saying around Strabane goes ‘sure it’s good for the town’.”