It is ready to look to raise between £3-5m. to construct a new, purpose-built facility, and wants to speak to people who might have a good site for such a project.
The charity said that the deteriorating condition of its current building and meeting the future needs of islanders has led its directors to search for land for a purpose-built facility.
The current home is approaching its 40th year and the charity is looking ahead towards the next few decades in how best to accommodate the needs of its residents, who live with serious physical disabilities.
The charity has always been based at Shorncliffe off the Rohais, a building it bought in the 1980s, but its condition has deteriorated in recent years and is running out of life.
Despite the charity receiving no direct funding or grants from the States, its directors have been working with Health & Social Care over its future and also looking at other possible solutions.
‘We started thinking about being able to stand on our own two feet and wondering if there was someone out there who has a plot that would enable us to house our existing residents,’ said chairman Rob Shepherd.
‘We know from meetings with HSC over the last five or six years that there is a pipeline of other people who will need our care in the years to come. There are other services that we could offer, respite for carers which is in short supply in the island, or “step up and step down” care, which is for people who don’t need to be in hospital but can’t move home just yet.’
The Cheshire Home is looking to diversify its offering for other sources of revenue, as well as housing its existing residents and building capacity for the future.
Ideally it is looking for a site big enough to build 20 rooms, preferably all at a ground floor level to eradicate concerns over the lift breaking down, as has happened at its current home. It would also need outside space, which is important for its residents, and good public transport links, as for some visiting relatives, a bus route is ‘critical’.
‘We looked at the possibility of developing our existing site. We have worked with Andrew Dyke, who has been very generous with his time, and he has worked up a scheme that could accommodate our number of residents on the existing site,’ said Mr Shepherd.
‘But the main problem of building on the current site is what to do with the residents while we’re building. It would fall back on the States to look after them, which causes disruption for our residents, and the cost was not significantly different.
‘We believe we should explore the idea of a new site. It’s easier to build on a clear site than develop an existing one so we need to explore it. We’ve got some funds in the bank, not enough to buy a new property at the moment, but we should still look at different avenues.’
Mr Shepherd said he would welcome a conversation with any possible help. For further information or confidential discussions, contact rob.shepherd@cheshirehome.gg.
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