A new residential home for young people was officially opened by the City of Edinburgh Council today (Wednesday 2 November).
The Heathervale Young Peoples Centre provides accommodation for young people aged between eight and eighteen.
It is the first residential care home built by the Council since 2003 and has six bedrooms and a self contained flat along with living, dining and creative spaces for young people and staff.
Councillor Cathy Fullerton, Vice Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council’s Education, Children and Families Committee, will perform the opening ceremony this afternoon.
Heathervale was designed by the Council’s Building Programme Team who took on board the latest Scottish Government guidelines on design for new residential care homes. The home aims to create a nurturing, flexible and homely environment which will accommodate the needs of a wide range of young people.
Key to this innovative design process was involving young people themselves especially when it came to the design of their bedrooms and colour schemes, sofas and accessories in the home.
Working with partners and the local community has also brought many benefits to the new building. The majority of the furniture was procured through the Scottish Government Supported Businesses scheme where more than 30% of the workers are disabled.
Major firms such as John Lewis, Tektura and Harlequin helped with wallpaper samples/roll ends for upcycling and in addition an appeal to local arts, crafts and community groups saw Wester Hailes library’s Knit and Knatter and WHALE Arts Stitch ‘n’ Time groups donate a selection of hand made cushions and quilts.
Councillor Cathy Fullerton, Vice Convener of the Education, Children & Families Committee at the City of Edinburgh Council, said:
We are determined to make our remaining residential estate of the highest possible quality and this fantastic new building is the first significant step in achieving this.
I’m delighted that one of the innovative elements for the new Heathervale YPC has been involving young people in the design process itself. The impact of a care home environment can have an effect on the children and young people living there so taking on board their views and comments has been a very positive step.
Some young people are in care for a short period of time so the flexible and nurturing approach used in Heathervale’s design sends out a strong message about how much the Capital Coalition values our residential services and our young people who are cared for.
The interior design of Heathervale has been nominated for a Society of British and International Design Award.
