By Sam Footitt, Chairman of the Appeal Board

In 2004 Rockdale received outline planning permission to replace their ageing care home with a modern, expanded facility. Since then, we have been working hard to raise the funds necessary to undertake the project, which will cost in the region of £4.7M.

Today, a magnificent total of £3.5M has been raised from charitable donations, pledges, grants and fund-raising events, plus Rockdale’s available reserves. We are now at a point where with continuing fund raising efforts and by working closely with our development partner, Kier Partnership Homes, we can explore ways of bridging the remaining funding gap. I am pleased to report that this dialogue is now under way, and we are optimistic that the financing of the project should no longer be an obstacle.

We are making good progress on technical and commercial discussions. As with any major building project, the picture is changing rapidly as obstacles are encountered and then addressed. Recent soil tests and a re-assessment of drainage requirements will require alterations to the design of the new house. Unfortunately these changes will have to be re-submitted to the planning authorities and we do not know how long it will take for the changes to be approved.

In summary, the main funding challenge appears to have been overcome, although we must continue energetically to raise funds in order to top up our financial reserves.

The project is moving forward; however, our hope to commence building work this quarter has proved somewhat over-optimistic and until our new plans are approved we cannot be certain as to when building will start.

Thank you again to our donors and supporters for your continued patience – we think you will all agree that it is better to build the right house than build it fast. We will continue to keep you informed as to progress.