Brand new sensory courtyard at Christopher's >>

L-R Fraser Armitage, Charis Armitage, Andrew Castle, Anneka Rice, Matthew MacFadyen, Will Spinney (CHASE Chairman), Keeley Hawes, Iain Armitage, Isla Armitage

CHASE hospice care for children welcomed families, supporters and celebrities to the official opening of its sensory courtyard earlier this month.

The enhanced courtyard, which forms the centre of the hospice building, offers a range of sensory experiences for families using the area including:

• fibreoptic lighting,
• outdoor musical instruments such as drums and chimes,
• aromatic plants and herbs, at wheelchair height.

The funding to purchase the specialised equipment for the sensory courtyard was generously donated by the Armitage family, who have been supported by the CHASE service.

Building the new and enhanced sensory courtyard

Cutting the ribbon, to officially open the space, Iain Armitage, explained that he and his wife had a little boy, Lachlan, who sadly died almost two years ago.

In memory of their son, Iain had chosen to fundraise for CHASE and undertook two London to Paris cycle rides with a team of his friends.

In total he and his team raised over £230,000 and although the family agreed that most of this money should be put towards core services they also wanted to support the enhancement of the sensory courtyard area, so £10,000 of was put to this use.

Local construction company, Alterspace also generously agreed to undertake all of the construction work for free, and also made sure that all of the very special equipment that featured in the design was able to be bought (through their own donation) which brought the total cost to £25,000.

Andrew Castle, Matthew MacFadyen and Keeley Hawes at the grand opening of the courtyard

GMTV Presenter Andrew Castle, and Spooks favourites, Matthew MacFadyen and Keeley Hawes, were just some of the guests who applauded as Iain Armitage and his wife, Charis, officially cut the ribbon and dedicated their part in the sensory courtyard to their son’s memory.

CHASE Chief Executive, David King said “We are extremely grateful to the Armitage family who have donated the funding to purchase the specialised equipment for the sensory courtyard and to Alterspace who have carried out the work free of charge.

“We have for some time wanted to enhance the sensory environment to make it more accessible for children in wheelchairs and those with complex needs, and also more acceptable across the age ranges.

"We had not been able to do this from within our core funds which are needed to maintain the care service offered by CHASE so this donation has been very kindly received.”

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