An extension to the Centre will start to be built from Jan 2015!

Brilliant news – we have finally received our long-awaited planning permission to build an extension to the Samson Centre!

The project consists of two phases, the first being an extension to the main hall in order to provide three more private physio treatment rooms and a storage room.

As part of Phase I, a new kayak shed will need to be built for the Wey Kayak Club, as one will be lost as a result of the hall extension; this will be paid for by the kayakers.

Phase I will start early in Jan 2015 and will take a few months to complete.

The project’s second phase is a larger extension on the other side of the current building to provide a large oxygen therapy suite (which will house a 6 person oxygen chamber and one or two individual oxygen chambers) plus a meeting room where members can talk in confidence to our MS Clinical Practitioner, committee meetings can be held, etc.

The entire project is expected to cost in the order of £750,000, and a significant fundraising campaign, the exact timescales of which are still to be determined, will be needed to achieve this challenging target. An extension fundraising sub-committee has been set up and is hard at work identifying various grant making bodies which could be approached for possible funding. However, we really need your help as there is a huge amount of money to be raised!

Please have a think about you may be able to help with the fundraising campaign. Some ideas include holding a garage sale, cake sale, taking part in a sponsored event, holding a dinner party for friends and they make a donation to the Centre in order to attend, set up a standing order donation each month to the Centre, ask friends and family to donate to the Centre instead of buying you birthday/Christmas/anniversary presents etc.

This promises to be a very busy and exciting time for the group – watch this space for further news!