AN ORGANISATION dedicated to those with additional support needs and their carers chose a Tweeddale centre to host its 10th anniversary party.

Since buying Netherurd Garden House, near Blyth Bridge, in 2021, Colin Mitchell, 63, has transformed the former Girl Guides hostel into state-of-the-art accommodation for people with additional needs.

Last Wednesday 120 people from Supporting Positive Paths (SPP) gathered for a fun day to mark the Edinburgh organisation’s 10th birthday.

SPP owner Lisa Hunter said: “This facility gives people a lot of independence and has plenty of specialist equipment.

“Our staff have to get people of different abilities to take part in the same day, which can be very challenging.

“Our people chat to everybody and it really helps everyone to be comfortable round people with different abilities.

“One of our clients in a wheelchair, James, loves coming here with his friends because there are spaces, other places have disability rooms but not enough space for people’s friends.

“You need to have places like this that are willing hosts. It is a brilliant facility.”

Tweeddale West councillor Drummond Begg, who was at the event, said: “A key thing for me is that this is an innovative facility where the actual specific team mix is client centred as opposed to facility centred.

“That ability to mix able bodied with non-able, whether it is neurodiversity through to physical, is fairly unique.”

Earlier Mr Mitchell spoke to the Peeblesshire News about his vision and the retirement project into which he has sunk much of a pension.

Mr Mitchell, who used to let Edinburgh Airbnb apartments, said: “Towards the end of that venture we had started dealing with care companies looking for respite breaks.

“I got chatting to the care companies and they said a missed opportunity was taking groups away to places where they would be accepted within their budget.

“Often there would be problems like the carer sleeping on a roll-out bed or the lifts being broken and they felt like second class citizens.

“We did some workshops, talked to the care companies about the size of facility required and developed other things that we could add.

“After buying these buildings we had to take the whole insides out.

“It was towards the end of Covid and very difficult to get building supplies, so we kept all the insulation and salvaged much of the other fittings.

“It took us a year to do the work.”