Thatcham's Priory back in use as charity opens new mental health service

Duchess officially opens Carramar service for people with mental health issues

A MENTAL health charity has said it “couldn’t have struck luckier” after officially opening its new service at Thatcham’s Priory.

Response has refurbished the building in Church Lane to provide a home for 10 people who have been unable to leave hospital because of a lack of step-down facilities in West Berkshire.

The Grade II-listed building has been transformed from an empty shell into bedsits with individual kitchens and a communal area for residents to build relationships.

The new service, called Carramar at the Priory, provides the residents with a chance to integrate into the community and possibly move on to live independently.

Carramar is an Aboriginal word meaning shade of trees.

The charity received a royal seal of approval when the Duchess of Gloucester officially opened the new mental health service on Wednesday, February 27.

The duchess spoke to residents of her support for the scheme, funded through a partnership with Berkshire Health Foundation Trust and Thatcham Town Council.

Response chief executive John McLaughlin, said: “Carramar will be an excellent resource for West Berkshire.

“Services such as these mean that individuals need not spend prolonged periods in hospital and means they can continue their recovery in a very supportive environment.

“Response absolutely believes that individuals with mental health issues need safe and secure accommodation in order to enhance their recovery journey.”

Mr McLaughlin added: “One of the residents was almost in tears with disbelief.

“He didn’t believe the facilities were actually his. He asked me a few times ‘are you sure I can live here?’.”

Mr McLaughlin said that Thatcham was a perfect location in “a lovely market town with lots of amenities… we couldn’t have struck luckier”.

He added that Carramar would help reintegrate people into the community and practice life skills they might not have had the opportunity to learn or may have forgotten.

Response is renting the building from Thatcham Town Council on a 30-year lease, generating more than £34,000-a-year for the local authority.

The future of the Priory was uncertain until Response contacted the town council after reading reports in the Newbury Weekly News.

The town council purchased the former pupil referral unit from West Berkshire Council in 2009.

The Liberal Democrats, who ran the authority at the time, wanted to use the building as a community facility and office space for the town council, while renting out the current offices in Brownsfield Road.

But work on the building did not begin until 2015, when the Lib Dems lost control of the council to the Conservatives, who wanted to sell the building off to reduce the “colossal debt to residents”.

The party’s plans were scuppered though when the sale to a private buyer fell through at the 11th hour.

Town council leader Jason Collis (Con, Thatcham North) said: “The original purpose of the building was a home and it’s gone back to that because it’s providing a home to vulnerable people in a specialised environment for them.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with how it’s turned out, the use of the building and the partnership we have with Response going forward.

“I just think it’s a huge result for Thatcham.”