Work starts on £3m Hollybank centre

This week work began on the 30-bed development called the Meadows, which includes 24 high dependency beds and a six-bed respite unit at its site in Far Common Road.

The £3m centre, for the The Hollybank Trust, will cater for young adults aged 16 to 21, who then move to a community house. The six bed unit will provide short breaks for families with disabled children of any age, and is to be offered out to the community.

It will be eco-friendly, with a ‘grass roof’, solar panels and special pumps to heat the water. In the centre of the development there will be an amphitheatre where residents can enjoy live music.

The charity was given planning permission for development by Kirklees Council’s Heavy Woollen planning sub-committee in August 2009, when members praised the work the charity does for disabled young people and their families.

Hollybank chief executive Pam King said: “Hollybank has been planning this for a long time and we are delighted that work has now started. It will make a fantastic difference to the quality of life for both adults and children. We are already making plans to move in!”

The development is being paid for with loans and grants already secured through trusts including the ACT Foundation, which provides grants for charities helping people in need, as well as funding from local companies and individuals who have donated to the Sponsor a Stone and Yellow Brick Road appeals, where people can have their name or company engraved on a brick for £100 or a stone for £10.

But the charity still needs to raise £450,000 to complete the project – and is asking for support from local companies.

To find out more about the Sponsor a Stone and Yellow Brick Road appeals, contact the fundraising department on 01924 483906.