Business Park Leeds

Families across Leeds are being invited to come along to a celebration of play to take part in a host of free games and activities.

The event - to celebrate Playday on Wednesday 5 August - has been organised by the Leeds Play Network with support from Leeds City Council and MEPC Wellington Place

Playday is a national campaign to raise the profile of the child's right to play and issues that children face in realising their opportunities to play.

This year's Leeds Playday event will take place on Wednesday 5th August 2009 at Wellington Place, at MEPC Wellington Place. The theme is "Make Time for Play" and will involve various play opportunities and a wide range of FREE activities for children and young people.

Playday is the biggest annual play celebration in the country. On Playday each year, thousands of children take part in free play celebrations across the UK. As well as enabling children and families to have a great day out, it also aims to get across some serious messages about play and children.

Chris Davidson, MEPC development manager, said: "Playday is another example of MEPC’s commitment to open up Wellington Place for the benefit of the local community until market conditions improve. Playday is a nice fit with the long term ambitions we have for Wellington Place, creating a sustainable development where people can work, live and visit."

Councillor Stewart Golton, executive member responsible for children’s services said: "Family life can be so hectic, and playtime is often the one thing that gets forgotten about. But play is such an important part of a child’s life and has a great impact on their future development, so it is vital that families set aside some time and space to allow their children to play."

Bob Morse, Play development worker, said: "Every year Leeds Play Network provides an event that culminates with the city-wide contribution to the national Play Network Campaign, bringing together partners from very diverse backgrounds. This year the site at Wellington Place, provided to us by MEPC, is right in the heart of the city and is a perfect location, large enough to accommodate the hundreds of children and parents that will come to enjoy Playday."