Kimberworth's the Place for exciting new centre

The former Kimberworth Comprehensive School building has been surrounded by scaffolding for many months but now its coverings have been removed and the stunning transformation will be rounded off at its official opening next week.

The £2.9 million development has seen a complete re-fit and re-design internally along with new windows and an external refurbishment bringing the building back to its former glory.

The Mayor of Rotherham, Cllr Rose McNeely along with the Shadow Secretary of State for Health, John Healey MP, will perform the official opening on Thursday (February 24) of the re-named 'Kimberworth Place' which has created a superb new centre housing a range of specialised services.

All this has been created in partnership between NHS Rotherham and Rotherham Council. Services based at the centre include:

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Learning Disability Services (including Hearing Impaired Team, Visually Impaired Team, Autism Communication Team and the Special Education Needs Team)
A new Disability Short Break Facility
Community Children's Complex Health Care Nursing Service
Physiotherapy
Occupational Therapy
Speech and Language Therapists
  
The services within the centre work with children, young people and their families from across the whole borough. Included in the building are dedicated delivery spaces for services to work with young people as well as creating an office base for multi-agency workers providing services out in communities.

Cllr McNeely said: "This is another way that services, agencies and the people they work with in Rotherham are joining together to improve the support on offer and hundreds of young people and their families will benefit from this new centre.

"I'm also looking forward to the chance to see the work that has been done to bring this magnificent building back into use."

Alan Tolhurst, Chairman of NHS Rotherham said: "Improving services for children and young people is a priority for NHS Rotherham and we are delighted to be opening this fantastic new facility, which will be a huge benefit to children, young people and their families. 

"Significant investment and close working between NHS Rotherham and Rotherham Council have enabled this centre to be built to provide a much needed hub for families with specialist health and social needs."

Cllr Paul Lakin, Cabinet Member for Safeguarding and Developing Learning Opportunities for Children, said: "The investment in this project shows that in Rotherham we are willing and able to look at new ways of funding and sharing resources to bring high quality services to local people.

"It is particularly important for these services which provide vital support to help families and ensure their children continue to get the best start in life in Rotherham."

The former Kimberworth Comprehensive School buildings have been empty for around six years since the school and the nearby Old Hall School were replaced by the newly-built Winterhill School in Kimberworth.

The Kimberworth Place project has taken around a year to complete and the construction work was carried out by Wildgoose Construction and was designed by RMBC's in-house building surveyors.