Mayor opens Hove charity’s training kitchen

The Mayor of Brighton and Hove Brian Fitch sampled a buffet prepared by adults with learning difficulties when he officially opened their new training kitchens.

Councillor Fitch opened the kitchens at the Grace Eyre Foundation in Montefiore Road on the corner of Old Shoreham Road, Hove.

The kitchens were developed in partnership with the Tony Barnard Foundation, the Hove charity, founded by former mayor Jenny Barnard-Langston.

They will be used to provide Skills for Life cookery training courses for adults with learning difficulties.

The Tony Barnard Foundation has also funded three of the 10-week courses, with more than 30 people successfully undergoing the training.

Danni Neal

Some of those who have recently completed the course prepared the buffet for the mayor and other guests at the official opening.

The kitchens will save Grace Eyre the money that it used to pay for hiring an external kitchen.

The Lakeland Store Brighton supported the project with a donation and a discount on the equipment purchased by the Tony Barnard Foundation.

Tomorrow (Monday 21 July) Adur District Council chairman, Councillor Fred Lewis, will officially open a garden which has been made accessible by the foundation.

The garden, in King’s Road, Lancing, is now safe and accessible for five-year-old Danni Neal, who has cerebral palsy and has complex needs.

Danni walks with a frame. The garden was landscaped and improved through the generosity of Gemini Print, Goddards Landscapes and KDS Skips.

They responded to an appeal by the Tony Barnard Foundation along with a number of generous individuals.

Jenny Barnard-Langston, who chairs the charity’s trustees, said: “The trustees are keen to support Sussex children and adults with learning difficulties and their carers.

“It was clear that having a safe place to be stimulated through play in her own garden would make a huge difference to Danni’s development.

“Gemini Print got behind the appeal and a number of local people began to raise funds for the garden which would have cost thousands of pounds to develop as a safe place for little Danni.

“It has been a testimony to the huge community and business support for Danni.”