Taunton’s new-look children’s centre is a cut above
Children and local dignitaries were among those who gathered in Taunton last Thursday (22 July) to celebrate the grand re-opening of the new-look Acorns Children’s Centre on Roman Road in Taunton.
Some 30 local children took part in the official opening ceremony of the popular centre following an extensive £500,000 extension and refurbishment programme, completed by construction services company ISG Pearce.
To mark the launch of the new-look facilities, the entire building was wrapped in a giant ribbon and the children, each armed with a pair of safety scissors, cut the ribbon en masse, watched by invited VIP guests including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Taunton and local community members.
Work on the site which began in late 2009, was completed by ISG Pearce last month and the centre now boasts a range of new facilities for young people and their families including NHS services, treatment rooms, a state-of-the-art sensory room to help stimulate people with sensory disabilities, two all-purpose rooms, a well-equipped kitchen for community activities and a new police post.
Fiona Pavey, Manager of Acorns Children’s Centre, said: “The new facilities will make a tremendous difference to children, young people and their families living in the area and we are thrilled with what has been achieved. The refurbishment will enable us to adopt a ‘multi-agency’ approach and really improve and extend the range of services available to all our families living within the community.”
The project was funded by Somerset County Council as part of the Surestart initiative and Andrew Hinchcliff, Taunton Service Manager for Children and Young People at Somerset County Council, who also attended the launch event, commented: “This is an important development for the entire community and the new facilities are a wonderful addition to the Children’s Centre giving staff the means to improve and extend the excellent services they already provide. It’s vital that our young people have access to facilities which help bring out the best in them and we are confident the improvements will do just that.”
The extension and refurbishment of the site was coordinated by Somerset County Council’s Children and Young People’s Directorate in partnership with ISG Pearce, building consultants Kendall Kingscott and Vaughan Perrett, project manager from Avon and Somerset Police.
At the opening event some 150 attendees including local dignitaries, families, representatives from Somerset County Council, officers from Avon and Somerset Police, as well as consultants and contractors involved with the development, enjoyed a delicious barbecue in the grounds of the new-look centre. The children enjoyed entertainment from the centre’s creative practitioner, helped to create healthy smoothies and played with all the toys and play equipment. At the end of the day, the children watched as hundreds of balloons were released into the sky to mark the official opening of the centre.
Paul Hogan, regional manager of ISG Pearce and head of the company’s Exeter office, said: “It has been great to see the children attend the opening event and see them excited and enthused about the new facilities on offer. The whole project team worked hard to ensure the build was completed as effectively and to the highest standards as possible. It has been a real privilege to be involved in such an important project which will make such a difference and provide huge added value to the local community.”