Excitement is building after plans were revealed to open a new soft play centre in Faversham.

The West Faversham Community Centre in Bysing Wood Road hopes to launch the facility for children in January.

The centre’s CEO, James Browning, says the news has been welcomed by many in the town.

“There’s been a real buzz around it,” he said.

“99.5% of the feedback has been very positive.

“Along with the whole team, I’m really excited to be able to bring the soft play centre in.

“We’ve been told for years how good it would be to have one here.

“And ultimately, having an extra way to provide for the community is really important. It’s the foundation of what we do.”

Faversham already has a soft play facility in Whitstable Road, but families have welcomed the addition of a centre on the other side of town.

The new soft play area will be open seven days a week, costing parents £4.50 on weekdays and £5.50 on weekends and holidays.

Impressed residents took to social media to share the news and express their delight.

One commented: “This sounds great to take the little ones!” while another added: “My girl is going to love it. So reasonably priced too. Definitely going to be here all the time.”

It is hoped the development will provide a much-needed boost to the centre as it seeks to recover revenue following the pandemic.

The cost of installing the soft play centre has not been revealed, but is believed to be in the five figures.

The centre has been a staple of the community for many years, with footfall said to be about 3,000 people a week.

However, show-lovers will be disappointed to hear that the community centre’s stage will be sacrificed to accommodate the soft play centre.

But James feels the benefits outweigh the negatives.

“The stage isn’t used for shows any more,” the community centre boss explained.

“And following Covid, we need to utilise 100% of the space we have to help build our revenue streams and properly serve the community.

“We don’t get any statutory funding, we do rely on the money we bring in along with other financial aid to survive.”

The lack of funding has led to previous plans to expand the centre to be shelved for now.

In 2020, proposals were submitted to build a 100-seater restaurant similar to Harvester at the site, but the £1.2 million project had to be paused.

James says he hopes to see the works come to fruition one day but that other plans are being prioritised.

“Right now, it’s been put a bit further back in our minds,” he said.

“With the pandemic, a lot of the grants needed collapsed, so the funding isn’t there.

“It is something we would love to do. The plans were approved, but for now we’re going to focus on the soft play centre and see what else we can do to keep people coming through the doors.”