‘Setback’ to Norwood’s £16m Ravenswood village redevelopment plans
The charity's chief executive, Dr Beverley Jacobson, described the news as 'clearly a setback'
Plans for an ambitious £16million redevelopment of Norwood’s Ravenswood village in Berkshire appeared to have been dealt a major blow after Persimmon Homes reportedly dropped out of the project.
The site is a home to people with learning disabilities and features an indoor hydrotherapy pool, coffee shop, riding school, and dance and art studios.
According to a report in the Jewish Chronicle, published on Thursday, Persimmon Homes withdrew from the project, which had apparently included plans to allocate a portion of land to the housebuilding company for housing.
Norwood’s chief executive, Dr Beverley Jacobson, described the news as “clearly a setback”.
She told the newspaper that “while this is clearly a setback in our ambition for Ravenswood, we will apply our creativity, and passion for the people we support, to develop an exciting new plan of action”.
“We will continue to ensure that the health, safety and wellbeing of the people we support, and of our staff, are at the forefront of all our thinking,” she added.
Wokingham Borough Council rejected in November last year a planning application submitted by Norwood outlining a similar proposal.
Persimmon Homes was contacted for comment.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
