All options open as Ravenswood consults on future
NORWOOD IS to hold a wide-ranging consultation on the future of its Ravenswood Village in Berkshire, currently home to 96 adults with learning disabilities and/or autism. It says all options are on the table, including closure.
The charity acknowledges that the village, established in 1953, “now unfortunately represents a dated model of care which is no longer supported by national policy and is no longer being commissioned by local authorities”.
The number of residents is falling — there has not been a new placement since 2014 — and with annual running costs exceeding £13 million, it is incurring “significant and increasing operating losses”. Substantial capital investment would be required “to manage unused areas and improve the infrastructure of those buildings in use”.
Plans long in the making to redevelop the site foundered last May when the local authority refused planning permission and the development partner withdrew.
Residents, relatives, staff and a number of volunteers will participate in the three-month consultation process, after which Norwood’s board and trustees will make a decision on the village’s future in the autumn.
Norwood chair Neville Kahn said the charity “must continue to plan for the current and future needs of our community to ensure we have the right facilities in the right locations, in line with policy and meeting our community’s expectations.
“We know that any decision made about the future of Ravenswood will be of critical importance not only to the families we support but to the whole community. This is why it is so important we hear the views, priorities and suggestions of all those involved with the village.”
Norwood CEO Dr Beverley Jacobson added: “Recent decades have seen extensive changes in the way in which people with learning disabilities and/or autism are supported to live a fulfilling life. National guidance now emphasises the importance of individual choice and independence for everyone, including the need for services to be located in areas where people can easily participate in the community.”
Sixty-three of the village’s residents are aged 50 or over. The youngest resident is 28, the oldest 78.
Current occupancy is barely half that of 1996, when there were 179 residents, and a drop of 22 from 2015, when there were 118.
It is so important we hear the views of all those involved’