HAND OVER OF LAND HAILED AS FIRST MAJOR STEP IN CREATION OF ALMONDBURY CHILDREN'S CENTRE

6.55.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 2nd Jul 2008

Cllr Linda Wilkinson

Almondbury Children's Centre is to be built on the site of the former Fussey's Allotments. The council's cabinet approved the hand over of the land at its meeting on Wednesday 2nd July, and the council will now invest £500,000 developing the centre to act as a hub for services in the area.

Children under five years old and their families will be able to access a range of services there including education and health. The construction programme will commence in November and should be complete by June 2009.

Cllr Linda Wilkinson, one of the three Liberal Democrat Councillors in Almondbury Ward, has hailed the hand over of the land as the first major step in the creation of the new Children's Centre. She says:

"The Children's Centre will be a welcome addition to the area for parents with young children. Rather than having to travel here and there to access care or see a health worker, they'll all be gathered in one place.

"The Centre will also be of benefit to the services and professionals based there. They'll be able to share information and refer people more easily which will ensure problems are sorted out in less time than at present."

"It took some time to find the correct site, but the Fussey's allotments seem ideal. The site is central and has plenty room for expansion in the future if it is needed. The ward has plenty of other allotments and this one hadn't been used for quite some time and was attracting anti-social behaviour. Turning it over to a worthwhile new project is a positive step forward for the area. We're very much looking forward to seeing things getting underway later this year."

The new Children's Centre will also have excellent green credentials. Its heating will be supplied by a biomass boiler and numerous energy saving design features such as high levels of insultation and natural ventilation will be incorporated.

"Almondbury has always tried to lead the way in environmental intiatives and we made sure they were incorporated in the centre's design," added Cllr Wilkinson.