Crispin Blunt MP was delighted to get his hands dirty on Friday 11th May as he broke the ground for the digging out of the foundations on our new supported housing development in Redhill.
It was designed by AHP Architects and is being built by local building contractor Marpaul Southern Limited. Active Prospects has worked closely with the NHS who have provided the Capital Grant for the works, Surrey County Council and the local Clinical Commissioning Groups to make this project happen.
The site will be transformed into nine self-contained flats, offering local people with learning disabilities the chance to live as independently as possible, with their own front door, and will keep people out of hospital or avoid them being placed far away. It will be ready to open for new residents by January 2019.
Communal space and a sensory garden will give people the chance to come together and enjoy social activities. Support staff will be on-hand during the day and night to offer support and reassurance as needed. These flats will also incorporate the latest advances in inclusive building design and assistive technology that facilitate independent living.
This is one of seven developments that Active Prospects is developing this year, creating 29 additional opportunities for people with learning disabilities to live independently.
Crispin Blunt said: “Active Prospects delivers brilliant local services and I’m delighted that, together with NHS England they have been able to turn a dated institutional building into bright, modern apartments that will be much more like a home. I really value the commitment of their staff who work tirelessly to enable better lives.”
An NHS England spokesperson said: “Health and social care professionals, as part of the local Transforming Care Partnership, have been working hard to develop safe, appropriate, community services for people with learning disabilities in Redhill. This redevelopment represents the latest scheme to provide homes for people with learning disabilities, autism or both, who do not need to be in hospital and want to live at home, in their local community, with the right care and support in place. We will continue to support this redevelopment and look forward to the day it welcomes its first residents.”
CEO Maria Mills said: “I am so pleased that we are now on the way to creating fantastic new homes that are in high demand by local people with learning disabilities based in their own community, which give them more choice and control over how they live their lives”.
