THE owners of a new play cafe in Basingstoke have vowed to improve after receiving a flurry of complaints from parents shortly after opening. 

TotCity opened in the unit above the former Lloyds Bank building at the Top of Town in December.

The business was first launched by Leon Li in Andover in 2019 and the Basingstoke venue is the family-run business’s fifth to open in the last six months, with other venues in Winchester, Salisbury and Worthing. 

However, the opening of the Basingstoke play cafe, which has role-play areas for young children, was met with some backlash as some customers posted their bad reviews on social media. 

One woman, who did not wish to be named, spoke to the Gazette about her concerns after she took her one-year-old daughter to visit. 

She said that the centre had a number of issues including a broken climbing frame, carpets not properly secured and heaters in reach of children.

 

There were also several complaints about the venue not being pushchair-friendly as a promised pram rack to the rear of the building had not been opened. 

READ MORE: Abbey Road: Housing developer fails to fix 'dangerous' broken wall

She said: "My daughter is one and Basingstoke doesn't have many things for toddlers so like many I was pretty pleased when TotCity opened so I booked a session. The whole place looked like it had been rushed to be finished." 

She complained to TotCity, but said it did not respond, so she reported her concerns to the council. 

Others also posted bad reviews to social media, particularly raising concerns about the climbing frame and stairs. 

SEE MORE: Sign up to Basingstoke's Race for Life with discounted entry

The Gazette understands TotCity received a visit from both Environmental Health and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service which gave it a number of improvements to action.

A spokesperson for TotCity said: "We appreciate the comments of the parent and welcome any constructive criticism. The safety of our clients and their children is of paramount importance to us.

"We acknowledge that the climbing frame was of poor construction and we taped this off to our clients. We have since removed it in full as we were unable to get someone in to finish the job.

"The issue of the flooring was probably more of an aesthetic one as the floor is glued, the tape was residue from the installation and was required to keep it in place while curing took place.

"We have now completed the installation of air-conditioning, which heats and chills the complete area from ceiling vents, there are no floor heaters that cause risk to guests.

"We have taken measures to correct any of our opening issues.

"We are a brand-new business in town that is creating new jobs and bringing a much-needed facility to the area. We welcome and thank you for the feedback and look forward to servicing the community, safely."

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s head of environment and community services Tom Payne said: “Officers from the council’s environmental health team attended TotCity to carry out a health and safety inspection in December 2022.

“At that visit, the owners were asked to put a series of measures in place to improve the health and safety of the site. The site has been revisited by officers to confirm that the required work has been undertaken.

“The council will continue to have regular contact with the business owners to monitor the improvements that have been made.”