The Friends of KGV are very pleased that another milestone has been reached in the redevelopment of the facilities at Rue Cohu as both The Health Improvement Commission and The Guernsey Community Foundation move to KGV. This project has been paid for by raising money from supporters and augmented by a significant contribution in 2019 from the States of Guernsey.
The newly refurbished second floor of the KGV Community Centre is the new home of The Health Improvement Commission with the Guernsey Community Foundation joining them later in the year.
The Perkins Suite, named in honour of Dame Mary and Doug Perkins [long-term supporters of KGV, the Guernsey Community Foundation and many other local charities], consists of offices with space for approximately 20 people together with a large Board Room which doubles as meeting room.
Tying in with the Health Improvement Commission’s aims to create environments, which support people’s health, the offices are furnished with sit-stand desks that help people to break up their personal sitting time at work. This style of working has shown to improve work-related physical and psychological health.
Chief Executive of the Health Improvement Commission Dr Simon Sebire commented: “Moving to The Perkins Suite has allowed us, for the first time, to bring our whole team together in the same space, it gives the Commission a sense of identity and room to grow. Being part of a community facility, which includes community and sports groups and other charities, presents lots of opportunities for us to connect and collaborate with others who share similar values”.
Chief Executive of the Guernsey Community Foundation Jim Roberts commented: “The Foundation is on course to outgrow its Town premises with the launch, later this year, of our new Charities Support Centre, so the opportunity to move into new offices with the Health Improvement Commission has come at a good time. The parking at KGV will make it easier for the Foundation to receive visitors and give the new Centre the best chance of success. With the Health Improvement Commission and the Foundation sharing the same premises, and Headway downstairs, KGV is becoming something of a charitable hub – a development that bodes well as third sector organisations look for ways to work more closely together”.
This significant addition to the KGV Clubhouse constitutes Phase 6 of an eight-phase development programme. The work on site took just under a year to complete under the supervision of Henry Main at RG Falla ltd. The contract was made more complicated as the premises were occupied throughout the contract period and an existing roof had to be modified and then extended. Also part of the project was a new entrance lobby which gives a great sense of arrival to the Clubhouse. The lobby incorporates a display area outlining the eighty plus years of the development.
These new facilities should have been opened on the 17th April but have been put back three months to allow the whole team to celebrate this milestone with a grand post-Covid opening party.
