21 May 2008 11:33 All change at Chand for Leicester’s pensioners

Elderly residents living in sheltered accommodation in Leicester will soon be enjoying their own garden, thanks to a £2,000 grant from power distribution company Central Networks.

Work at the Chand Community Centre in Gipsy Lane, which will include a wheelchair-friendly garden with new habitat for wildlife, was made possible by a donation from the power company's Safer Environment Fund. 

There are 20 homes in the council-run block of sheltered accommodation and all the residents were consulted on what they wanted for their new garden. Improvements will include block paving the area, removing overgrown shrubs and planting new flowers and grasses.

"The Safer Environment Fund is just one example of our commitment to improve the areas where we operate and to help the customers we serve," said Phil Wilson, Customer Operations Manager for Central Networks.

"We're hoping this project will make the communal gardens a much more pleasant place for residents to sit in during the summer months."

Gurmel Singh, the chairman of the Chand Community Centre, said: "The older people who attend the centre spend most of their time indoors and have little access to outdoor space.

"A safe outdoor environment where they could sit out in the fresh area and take part in physical activity such as gardening will improve their lifestyles.

"Thanks to this grant this garden will be environmentally friendly, it will be clean, it will be wonderful."

Ends

Notes to editors:

• Central Networks brings power to 4.9 million customers across central England through 133,000km of underground and overhead cables and via almost 97,000 substations;
• Central Networks covers an area from the Peak District in the north to parts of Bristol in the south, and from the Welsh Borders to the Lincolnshire Coast.

For more information contact:

Andrew Barrow on 02476 183 677

A selection of Central Networks images are available free of charge to the media by registering at www.newscast.co.uk and looking under Distribution