Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Developer funds home’s redesign for disabled lad
A relieved mum who faced having to put her severely disabled son into care has thanked those who rallied to help build him a specially-adapted new home.
Hazel Ransley-warners feared the worst for 11-year-old Travis when councillors turned down her bid to construct the bungalow on land next to her parents’ house.
But a Canterbury developer was “moved to tears” by the family’s plight and offered to help.
Mark Quinn forked out £15,000 for a redesign of the property and a new application, which has now been passed, with building work already underway.
Mrs Ransley-warnes, 46, says it is a huge weight off her shoulders that she will now have the accommodation needed for Travis, who is blind and deaf and has epilepsy and a heart condition.
She says her wheelchair-bound son has outgrown their home in Shepherdswell, where he only has access to a portable shower and no bathroom.
The new home, a chalet bungalow in the village’s Meadow View Road, will have enough room for Travis to manoeuvre his wheelchair and a high roof to accommodate equipment such as a hoist.
Mrs Ransley-warnes said: “I am totally relieved. The first day of building was the happiest day of my life. Now Travis has a home forever instead of otherwise having to go into residential care.”
As well as Mark Quinn’s contribution, architects and builders also charged a reduce rate, saving the family thousands of pounds.
“People supported us thinking this lad needs to be helped,” said Mrs Ransley-warnes.
Mr Quinn says he and Clague Architects became involved after hearing the family’s story at a planning meeting of Dover District Council last July. The original home was turned down for being too big and out-of-keeping with its surroundings.
So the developer authorised his firm to foot a £15,000 bill both to pay for the redesign and new planning application costs.
The follow-up application was approved in March by officers under delegated powers.
Dad-of-three Mr Quinn, whose firm is based in Bridge, said: “It literally brought us to tears.
“We met Travis and it affected us. We all thought, ‘there but for the grace of God go I.’
“When you get a chance to help in a situation like this you should.
“What Hazel does for her son is incredible, so what we did in comparison was tiny.”
Travis and his family, including siblings Sophie-louise, eight, Holly-nicola, seven, and ChloeAnne Marie, six, expect to move into their new home by the end of the year.