Hampshire’s Lord Lieutenant opens new potting shed in Horndean – made possible by big Portsmouth North Rotary Club donation

Portsmouth North Rotary Club members with Lord Lieutenant Nigel Atkinson. From left - Andy Brockett, Nigel Atkinson, Keith Redford (Rotary Club President), Malcolm Gingell, Keith Purnell, Chris Fairhall, Keith Barnett

The Lord Lieutenant – who is King Charles III’s official representative in the county – is the President of The New Blendworth Association.

The Centre is a day provision for post 19-year-old people with varying degrees of learning disability and offers its service users a work-orientated placement within its garden centre.

The building, which will be used as a modern potting shed, was paid for from £8,040 donated by the Rotary Club of Portsmouth North, raised from their annual charity golf day at Rowlands Castle last summer.

The Lord Lieutenant said: ‘We are truly grateful to Portsmouth North Rotary Club for raising the money to provide this modern, well-insulated and well-lit building which will be a huge asset to our nursery business.

‘This is the single biggest donation we have ever received and donations like this make such an enormous difference to the centre and those we support.

‘The Rotary Club members should feel real pride in making a difference to the lives of so many vulnerable people.’

The Rotary Club of Portsmouth North (RCPN have been arranging Charity Golf Days for more than two decades, raising over £300,000.

Keith Purnell, secretary of RCPN, added: ‘This event was originally planned for 2020 but delayed by the pandemic.

‘We are really pleased to be able to finally fund this new building for The New Blendworth Centre. What they do here is absolutely brilliant and the difference they make to people with learning disabilities in our community is really heart-warming.’

The New Blendworth Centre aims to develop and support individual goals, encourage friendships, raise self-esteem and promote confidence and independence in learning disabled adults.

The nursery at the centre is open to the public – Monday to Friday (9.30am-3.15pm) and from April to June also on a Saturday (10am-3pm) to purchase plants.

The New Blendworth Centre is a day provision for post 19-year-old people with varying degrees of learning difficulties/disabilities.