Refurbishment of Cuckfield children’s home to receive extra funding

The county council has already allocated £4.183m of capital funding to the work at Orchard House, in Cuckfield, and now an extra £745k has been approved.

A report from Lucy Butler, director for children, young people and learning, to Jacquie Russell, cabinet member for children and young people, said the money would help the project to better meet the aims of the council’s Climate Change Strategy.

The extra work will include:

• The installation of a ground source heat pump – a renewable heating system which extracts residual heat stored in the ground outside to provide heating

• Improved cavity insulation and a change to the first-floor external render of the main building

• The installation of a modular net carbon zero contact centre for children in care to have supervised contact with families. The centre will also be used for other day activities.

• The money will also pay for additional bedroom furniture and the increase in professional fees needed to cover design and project management.

The report said: “The installation of a ground source heat pump would reduce the energy consumption for space heating in the main building by 72 per cent.

“Improvements to the contact centre, in line with the net zero standard, will also reduce energy consumption, including through improved insulation, LED lighting, energy management systems and other measures to be identified.”

Orchard House was one of three West Sussex children’s homes to be rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted earlier this year.

It provides short and long-stay accommodation for up to 16 children, aged between five and 18 with learning disabilities.