Active Prospects Impact Report 2023 final - Flipbook - Page 12
Creating the
right spaces
for: people to
live and thrive
In September we opened Great Meadows, our new flagship
service near Redhill in East Surrey, which offers people with
complex behaviours an opportunity to build their independence
within their own purpose-built flat.
Great Meadows provides six individual homes with their own
gardens and access to large communal spaces for people to develop
independent skills or use for social time. It is also positioned next
door to our allotment offering opportunities to enjoy green space.
All the flats are accessible and safe for people with high support
needs, with inclusive design features such as assistive technology,
soft hooks and breakaway bars in wardrobes or kitchen fittings.
Great Meadows was built thanks to an NHS capital grant, and we
have worked alongside local authority and NHS colleagues to offer
new homes to people who have spent – in some cases – many years
in hospital.
This year we also refurbished two services, in Banstead and Ashtead,
which provide seven new homes for people with learning disabilities.
The Banstead service has enabled five people who lived in a shared
house for many years to stay together, following the council’s
decision to close their previous home.
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Two further services for people with
complex needs are in the pipeline for 2024:
one in Horsham and the other in Brighton &
Hove. These have also been made possible
by NHS Capital funding. Over recent years
we have financed new developments
through a mix of traditional mortgages,
social finance and NHS grants.
However, with interest rates and construction
costs rising, as well as local authorities
squeezing care funding and rent levels, it is
becoming increasingly challenging to meet
the costs of new developments delivering
truly bespoke homes for people without
public sector grants.