First dedicated role play centre for youngsters set to open near Northamptonshire

The PlayTown is the first dedicated role play centre in the East Midlands for children ages 0-7.

The miniature town, based on an industrial estate in Rutland, is set to open this autumn.

Via The PlayTown Role Play Centre Facebook page owner, Charlene said: "As a local mum of 3 children aged 1, 3 and 5 I’m always on the lookout for great ways to entertain the children (as well as save my sanity).

"I’ve always known that I wanted to run my own business but had never found an idea that I was passionate enough about.

"I’ve long felt that there’s real lack of indoor recreational activities for younger children in the area so when I took my children to a role play centre elsewhere in the country and saw how much fun they had and how engaged they were, I knew that I had to bring the concept to Rutland."

Construction work began at The PlayTown at the end of August and will feature a miniature ice cream van and fire engine with two steerings wheels.

Charlene said: "Role play centres are a fairly new concept to the UK but are commonplace is the US.

"Typically they are fitted out as a miniature town with a variety of shops, play equipment and costumes to support the role play environment and enable children to use their imagination in a variety of situations. In short, imagine a real life Biggleton!"

The PlayTown website simply says: 'Opening soon. It's not long now until the East Midlands' first dedicated role play centre opens.'

There is also the opportunity to sign up for more information and the Facebook page now has more than 1,800 likes.

The PlayTown is located at Unit 5, Meadow Park Ridge Industrial Estate, Rutland.