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The Haven Centre: Inverness respite hub nearing completion ten years on

The 10th anniversary party is being held on Saturday.

Kate Forbes (left) with  community fundraiser Rhona Matheson and Elsie Normington being shown around The Haven building by site manager Greg Cooper. Image Jason Hedges/DC Thomson
Kate Forbes (left) with community fundraiser Rhona Matheson and Elsie Normington being shown around The Haven building by site manager Greg Cooper. Image Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

A decade in the making, The Haven Centre in Inverness is nearing completion in time for a significant milestone in its journey.

The building emerging in the Smithon area of the city will be Scotland’s first multi-purpose hub for children and young adults with severe learning disabilities and complex needs.

It is on course to be ready next month, almost exactly ten years since the charity behind it, the Elsie Normington Foundation, was established.

In April 2021 the charity reached its fundraising target of £4 million and construction started in March last year.

What will be in The Haven?

The multi-purpose facility will include three two-bedroomed respite houses for young adults up to the age of 30.

There will also be a community café, indoor and outdoor play centres, office and meeting spaces and a community garden.

In December, UHI Inverness student Robyn Paterson’s design was chosen as the logo for the Haven.

The building is expected to open next month. Image Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

Disability campaigner Elsie Normington set up the foundation following the launch of her book, ‘The Silent Doorbell’.

It told of her personal struggle raising her son Andrew who has a severe learning disability.

It also chronicled the lack of provision for children and young people with severe learning disabilities and complex needs in the Highlands and Islands.

A 10th anniversary party is being held tomorrow in the Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness, with special guest Lady Claire Macdonald.

‘Thrilling to see it now’

Elsie Normington said: “This is a culmination of ten years of hard work. We’re nearing completion now.

“I didn’t think it would take this long but we’ve stuck with it. It’s thrilling to see it now.

“What thrills me most is the hundreds of people who have jojned me, whether they’ve given their time, their skills, their money, their encouragement, through that ten year journey.

“This isn’t just about me, it’s about the community in its broadest sense.”

Highland MSP Kate Forbes was shown around the site yesterday to see the progress being made.

She said: “I’ve been hugely supportive of The Haven Centre for a number of years and it’s taken them blood, sweat and tears to get to the point where we have a building that just looks remarkable.

The Haven has been ten years in the making. Image Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

“This will make a huge difference to families across the Highlands.

“Although based in Inverness, it will ensure families from Thurso to Oban will have respite facilities and an activity centre they don’t have and should have.

“There are a lot of projects ten years in the making that don’t get over the line.”

She praised the fundraising team for its efforts which have added to Scottish Government and other funding.

Families don’t have anything like this

She added: “My interest in the centre is borne from helping families who are desperately in need of additional support.

“It’s well known that while we have many facilities in tthe Highlands, we don’t have anything like this.

“For families who are exhausted and are needing respite, this provides that.

“For me this centre encapsulates the principle that every human being has inherent dignity and worth and deserves care and support from the wider community.”

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