Condover College resident pupils Craig, Robert and Nabeel, are very proud of their new student accommodation in Baschurch – in fact they’re chuffed to bits.

They helped choose the furniture, curtains and pictures for The Wheatlands, which is the latest property to be re-developed for the charitable trust.

The nine-bedroomed (all en suite) home has two lounges and two kitchen/diners plus a separate bathroom.

Originally a 1960s purpose-built children’s home, it has been transformed into a very attractive “home from home”. It’s about as far away from a traditional institution as you can get – that being the whole idea.

Bowen Properties Ltd of Shrewsbury bought the property in July 2009 after it had been empty for 18 months. After then renovating it through Bowbright Developments Ltd they leased it to the college. Phase one opened last October, while phase two will open to residents this September, on being registered.

It is one of a number of properties that have been specially renovated into accommodation for boarders by Bowbright Developments on behalf of the college. It lies in a lovely position, next to playing fields in the pretty village, with wonderful country views from the first floor.

Condover College educates adults with profound and multiple learning difficulties, physical disabilities, sensory impairment and other complex needs.

It has both day and residential students, with the residential places funded by the Young People’s Learning agency, social services and health authorities, normally for three years.

The students are educated at the college’s education centre at Grafton, as well as in the community and in their own homes. The aim is to increase the students’ level of independence and build their skills.

Extension

Condover College’s chief executive, Steve McGill said: “Originally Condover House (the college HQ in Condover), was run as an extension of the RNIB Condover Hall School.

The RNIB decided in 2003 to close its adult education centre there. We went to the RNIB and asked if we could set up a charitable organisation to take over the adult education centre. On September 13, 2004, we took over, supporting nine young people with 24 staff. As of this September we will be supporting 47 people with 180 staff.”

The reason Condover College doesn’t have a waiting list for resident students is because it has accommodation developed for them on demand.

Nabeel in one of the bedrooms

This means that when The Wheatlands was being worked on by developer, Andy Bowen, of Bowbright Developments, he already knew who each bedroom was destined for, and so was able to specially adapt each one for their needs.

Steve added: “The people we support, not so long ago, would have lived in large, isolated long-stay hospitals and now they live in the community in an ordinary house in an ordinary street; and, as well as receiving a service they make positive contributions, both directly and indirectly to the community in which they live.”

The former children’s home had lots of long corridors and ten or 11 bedrooms plus a lounge and a kitchen and staff quarters. Andy and his team gutted it and redesigned it and added an extension. It was re-plumbed, re-wired and had new windows and doors installed. The outside is to have car parking and gardens.

Special requirements

Asked what special requirements he had to take into account, Andy said: “The stuff you have to think about is access – making sure the access is good; minimising corridors, making sure all the doors run off a central point. You have to maintain certain sized rooms, but we usually know whose going in each room and their needs.

With bathroom facilities, most of them are designed to take in all aspects. They are designed so that we can make any adjustments necessary to suit any individual requirements.”

“For fire doors, we try to use doors that are aesthetically pleasing. They look like a normal door but are actually a fire door. They comply with regulations but we try and make it look as near as you can to what you’d have in a normal home.”

The residents have 20 staff looking after them in total, including five full-time staff, part-time staff and bank staff.

Operations director Vikki Pryce said: “A lot of thought has gone into this development and our residents are very proud of their house. They love the house. I think with this house, even on their first night, it was like they’d always lived here. It has a lovely feel about it. It’s really peaceful.”

Steve added: “We’re pretty happy with this. It doesn’t feel like an institution, it feels like a home. We’ve spent a lot of money, because our guys deserve it. At the end of the day they are our employers.”

Bowen Developments’ next planned project for Condover College is to be a new build at the site of Condover’s old pumping station. The 12-bedroomed property will also have its own hydrotherapy building.

Steve said: “Housing development for the site has been denied in the past. We’ve had a lot of local support for doing something like this. We’ve had lots of support from the parish council.