MS centre set to move to new home (From Swindon Advertiser)

MS centre set to move to new home

7:10am Monday 20th April 2009 in Search By Ben Perrin

MEMBERS of the Swindon Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre are celebrating after they secured their new home for £400,000.

The deal, clinched this weekend, will see the old Farepak offices at Evolution House, in Westmead Drive, transformed into a centre full of physiotherapy and treatment rooms by the autumn.

Its ground floor will house the centre so the charity can move from its cramped premises at BSS House, on the Cheney Manor Industrial Estate.

A £104,000 cylindrical seven- tonne oxygen chamber capable of seating 12 people is currently on order.

When it arrives it will have to be lifted in through the roof by crane.

The move follows a substantial grant from the Bradbury Foundation and the DR TC Wilson Charitable Trust.

It has been a long hard road for us. We’re not quite over the finishing line yet but we’re close

David Wray, the chairman of the MS Therapy Centre

The MS centre and Perpetual Legacy bought the building in West Swindon, which will now take the name Bradbury House to mark a new era in its life.

The charity still needs to generate a further £200,000 to equip the centre and is hoping further fundraising by individuals and groups will make this possible.

“It has been a long hard road for us,” said David Wray, the chairman of the MS Therapy Centre.

“We’re not quite over the finishing line yet but we’re close.

“We’ve wanted to move to new premises for the last two and a half years.

“Access has been a problem at Cheney Manor and now we have 27 car parking spaces of our own.

“We want to more than double our membership.

“Currently we have 50 active members and 100 others.

“The increased space will allow us to extend our services to people with neurological conditions, including children with autism, cerebral palsy, brain tumours and stroke victims.”

MS affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, causing problems with muscle control, vision and balance.

Although there is no cure, oxygen therapy can help those who suffer with the condition.

By breathing pure oxygen under increased air pressure, people can find relief from their symptoms and contain their condition.

The centre wants to thank solicitors Charles Lucas Marshall, Perpetual Legacy, the Rotary Club of Swindon Thamesdown, the Bradbury Foundation and numerous individual fundraisers – without whom members say the move would not have been possible.

Events coming up in aid of the centre are the 20-mile overnight Ridgeway Walk on June 13 and the MS Challenge in Snowdonia, north Wales, from July 3 to 5, when an MS sufferer will be carried by their team around a muddy course in the mountain range.

If you would like more information about the centre, or would like to fundraise, call 01793 481700 or visit www.msswindon.org.uk or email stcswindon@btconnect.com.