Work starts on village for independent living

Gary Dovey said The Village will help boost independence

Accessible log cabins, a wilderness area and a small working farm will be built at a school for young people with special educational needs in a £2m project to promote independent living for students.

The second phase of work on The Village at Le Murier, in St Sampsons, Guernsey, has got under way and two log cabins were hoped to be completed by Easter next year, project leaders said.

The purpose-built residential training centre had been designed to teach vital life skills to students with additional needs to help develop their ability to live independently.

Village warden Gary Dovey said the idea came from taking students on residential trips, where some struggled with day-to-day living.

He said: "We've got great education and schools in the island, but to teach young people with additional needs the vital life skills to try and live their life as independently as possible, that's the big aim.

"If we can reduce the need for care or any help in their living, that's the result we're after."

The Village was being developed on the fields behind Le Murier and St Sampson's schools and would cater for up to 16 students a night, project leaders said.

It would have a village hall with a classroom, work room and commercial kitchen, four log cabins, a camping area, a woodland and wetland for environmental education and exploration and a farm, they added.

Mr Dovey said that research showed that looking after animals "brings out confidence, teamwork and reliability".

"We're hoping to have a little farm. We've spoken to a few people who have goats and sheep and are going to let us borrow them for a couple of weeks," he added.

The project was set to cost about £2m and the team stilled needs £800,000 to buy two more cabins and fit them out, staff said.