A facility for adults with learning disabilities has secured a top award and royal approval.
The Allander Resource Centre in Bearsden was recognised for diversity in the public sector at the Herald and GenAnalytics Diversity Awards 2024 earlier this month.
Judge Elaine Boyd, a deputy lieutenant of Dunbartonshire, who uses the hydrotherapy pool at the Allander Leisure Centre, presented the award and passed on congratulations from King Charles III.
The Allander Resource Centre, which is part of the Allander Leisure Centre, was described as a "stand-out winner" by the judges.
The centre opened in March 2023 and offers specialist services for adults with severe and complex learning disabilities.
Nearly 90 people use the centre for weekday services, and it serves as a hub for an additional 60 people who mainly receive community support, using the facility for activities like art and drama sessions, work, and meetings.
East Dunbartonshire Council built the centre, collaborating closely with partners including East Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership, which provides the services, and the Leisure and Culture Trust.
The facility boasts dementia, rebound, sensory, and physiotherapy treatment rooms, arts and crafts and music rooms, a dance studio also used for fitness, drama, and evening social activities, a sensory garden, café, kitchen and dining facilities, flexible meeting rooms, quiet spaces, and offices.
It also offers access to the hydrotherapy pool, swimming pool, and games hall within the Allander Leisure Centre.
McLaughlin & Harvey served as the main contractor, with Holmes Miller handling the architectural design, supported by Doig+Smith, Brown + Wallace, and planning consultancy Stantec.
The Allander Leisure Centre has been shortlisted in the AJ Architecture Awards 2024, which celebrates design excellence across the UK.
They said: "The Allander Resource Centre boasts an incredible space, unique in the UK. It is fully integrated with the community, fosters partnerships, and delivers vital and inclusive services in a public sector space."
Councillor Calum Smith, chair of EDHSCP, said: "The Allander Resource Centre is a fantastic facility which provides vital support to adults with a range of needs. This award is a reflection of the high regard in which it is held and the wonderful work which is taking place.
"Community and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do, so it's particularly pleasing for the centre to be recognised for Diversity in the Public Sector. Well done to everyone involved – service users and their families, the dedicated staff who support them, the many partners involved – including the Council’s Major Assets team – and the wider community."
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