Adults with disabilities stand to benefit as a council has announced it will initiate fund raising efforts for new care centre.

Councillor Les Sibley, Chairman of Cherwell District Council, has announced that he will raise funds for Alexandra House of Joy during his term of office.

Mr Sibley was elected chairman of the council in May and will be supporting the charity’s appeal to raise £3 million.

The plan is to build a new facility in Bicester that would offer a comprehensive package of support to adults with severe learning disabilities, and those who care for them.

Mr Sibley said: “I want to encourage local backing for Alexandra House of Joy’s distinctive and important work as the charity looks to build this excellent new care centre.

“They plan to offer daytime support, respite holidays and palliative care, and this service would be offered to people not only in Bicester but across Cherwell and the wider region too.

“It would make a profound difference to many local people’s lives.”

The building would include bedrooms for respite and end of life care, day care facilities including art, music, craft and sensory rooms, a kitchen garden and café, a landscaped sensory garden, and a hydrotherapy pool.

It would also provide employment and training opportunities to people in Bicester and the wider area.

Read more: Woman praises honest teenagers who tried to find owner of handbag

Rachael Scott-Hunter, Chair and Founder of Alexandra House of Joy said: “Alexandra House of Joy is a legacy to the life of Alexandra Scott-Hunter, who, through her bravery and courage, is the inspiration for this unique and much needed multipurpose centre.

“The many varied opportunities that will be on offer have never been brought together before under one roof.

“This is not a residential home, but it will play a major role in helping families affected by someone with a learning disability.”

Mr Sibley is a longstanding supporter of the charity, having previously raised funds for them during his terms as mayor of Bicester and chairman of Oxfordshire County Council.

He plans to support the fundraising drive with a series of events throughout the council year.

Alexandra House of Joy was gifted the land and in 2021 was granted outline planning permission to build on a site off Seelscheid Way in Bicester.

Mrs Scott-Hunter embarked on the adult care centre project in 2017.

After cutbacks led to the eventual closure of a day care centre in Kidlington that her daughter Alexandra attended, Mrs Scott-Hunter had a vision of a single-storey building that her daughter and others could use.

After talking it over with some friends, she decided to try and make it a reality.

 

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

A message from our Editor

Thank you for reading this story and supporting the Oxford Mail.

If you like what we do please consider getting a subscription for the Oxford Mail and in return we’ll give you unrestricted access with less adverts across our website from the latest news, investigations, features, and sport.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok for more. 

You can also join the conversation in our Facebook groups: stay ahead of traffic alerts here, keep up to date with the latest from court here, share your favourite memories of Oxford here, get your daily dose of celebrity news here and take some time out with news that will make you smile. 

If you’ve got a story for our reporters, send us your news here. You can also list an event for free here.