The Slater Centre

Greenham Common Trust donated £2 million to build a facility at New Greenham Park designed to enable the recycling of goods and to provide training and employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities.

The Slater Centre is named after the late Patrick Slater MBE, former Chairman of West Berkshire Mencap and member of the Trust's Distribution Committee, in recognition of his long and outstanding service to the voluntary sector.

Several successful organisations working with the socially excluded, many of whom have physical or learning disabilities, have come together to increase real working opportunities and to provide the necessary training and support for this disadvantaged group. All these organisations are close to capacity and have waiting lists for the services they offer.

Currently these organisations are:

• The Link Up Project
  a joint work experience and training project with 50 clients, run by West Berkshire Mencap, Newbury College and West Berkshire Council
• The Community Furniture Project
  recycling furniture for the disadvantaged and training of the client group
• Empower
  IT training for 44 clients per week, run by Newbury College
• Connexions
  a government youth scheme finding routes to employment for younger clients
• Alzheimer's Society West Berkshire
  support and advice on living with all forms of dementia
• HomeStart West Berkshire
  supporting families in local communities
• Royal Society Mencap Housing Support Group
  supporting living schemes for people with mental health issues
• Berkshire Federation Of Young Farmers Clubs
  a local charity providing opportunities for young people to have fun, improve their personal skills and gain a sense of achievement
• BACYP - Millennium Volunteers
  Berkshire Association of Clubs for Young People supports and develops young people through their leisure time activities. The Millennium Volunteers scheme aims to recruit and support young volunteers to achieve MV Award for 200 hours of voluntary service
• Newbury Motor Project
  work related training for 14 - 16 year olds who are at risk of or have been excluded from main-stream education
  Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust - Find out about nature reserves to visit, great days out, wildlife advice, how to contact us, and most importantly, how you can get involved.

The aim is to integrate the working of these organisations to create a regional show piece project demonstrating the advantages of joint working and co-operation. A purpose built 18,000 sq ft facility has been constructed on New Greenham Park to enhance the success of these existing projects and organisations. By housing them all under one roof the following benefits will accrue:

• Greater recycling of furniture and 'white' and 'brown' goods to those that need it
• A step change increase in capacity. The current 82 employment opportunities and approx 1,500 training opportunities per annum will increase to 170 and approx 3,000 respectively
• Greater opportunities for the client base, realised by combining the efforts of the partners
• An exemplar project promoting joint working and the efficient use of shared resources between the partner charities
• Users will have many of their needs dealt with under one roof
• Purpose built training facilities for Disability & Discrimination Awareness, clients' basic skills, IT training, kitchen/catering training for users
• Client employment opportunities with Link Up and the Community Furniture Project and in the running of the building
• Readily accessible services as clients and customers will use the free bus service to New Greenham Park

As well as contributing £2 million towards the capital cost of the building, Greenham Common Trust will grant aid the charities involved the annual rental of the building, thereby providing significant revenue funding on an ongoing basis.

The Slater Centre was officially opened by Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex on 21st March 2006. Click here to see the opening Visit www.slatercentre.org