Codona's Amusement Park 'astounded' at outdoor rides closure

The park reopened on 15 July following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions

Codona's Amusement Park in Aberdeen said it was "astounded" at Scottish government instructions to close its outdoor rides a week after reopening.

The park said the new coronavirus restrictions could put up to 180 jobs at risk.

It said it was told that its premises were classed as the same as a travelling funfair.

The Scottish government said it would move to open Scotland's funfairs "as soon as it is safe to do so".

In a Facebook post, Alfred Codona said: "We find the decision to close our outdoor rides astounding, considering outdoor playgrounds are now open with no Covid-19 policies or procedures in place.

"Additionally indoor restaurants, cinemas, shops, shopping centres, indoor and outdoor bars are now open all over Scotland.

"And yet, our outdoor attraction with all the appropriate Covid-19 policies and procedures, inspected and approved, is instructed to close.

'Reopen safely'

The park said that before reopening on 15 July it had requested confirmation from the "relevant government department" on whether it could open its outdoor attraction.

The park said: "Unfortunately, despite numerous requests, we didn't receive a response, so therefore we continued to prepare for our reopening on 15 July."

It said it had put "all necessary policies and procedures in place to allow the business to reopen safely".

The park said it was visited on 15 July by its Environmental Health Officers (EHO) who were "very positive about the measures we had implemented".

The park said the EHO then advised it to seek further confirmation from the Scottish government over what was meant by the "funfair terminology" used in its regulations.

'Travelling funfair'

The park said: "The EHO were comfortable with us remaining open while this matter was decided upon.

"On the evening of 21 July, after reviewing the terminology, the Scottish government have now informed us they deem our premises to be the same as a travelling funfair, and have instructed we close the funfair-type rides."

The Scottish government said public health was "paramount" and it did not want any business to remain closed or with restrictions in place "for a day longer than is necessary".

A spokesman said: "We will move to reopen Scotland's funfairs, as soon as it is safe to do so.

"Throughout the process, we have made clear that not all changes in each phase will be implemented at once.

"Our priority is to keep people safe and we have issued updated guidance to reflect concerns around funfairs.

"We will continue to assess the situation and make a further decision when it is safe to do so."