SOUTHERN Daily Echo editor-in-chief Ian Murray was on hand to personally deliver a cheque for more than £10,000 to help in the creation of a new development for the disabled in Hampshire.

The cash was a grant from the Gannett Foundation. Gannett is the parent company to Newsquest, owners of the Southern Daily Echo.

The presentation was for the Enham Trust, based just outside Andover in Enham Alamein.

“I’m delighted to be able to make this donation on behalf of our company to such a fantastic organisation,” said Ian.

“The Enham Trust is a wonderful organisation and I know the money will be put to great use,” he added.

The Gannett Foundation contribution of £10,300 will fund two bespoke kitchens designed to be fully accessible to people who use wheelchairs.

A panel of Enham Trust residents have played a key role in their design, offering invaluable advice based on their own experience of trying to cook and clean for themselves.

The kitchens are to be installed in Enham Trust’s flagship development, being built in Andover, and will include height adjustable sinks, hobs and worktops to allow a wheelchair to sit close up.

Cupboard storage will be at low level, and ovens will have side opening doors.

Bradbury Place is the disability charity’s first wheelchair-accessible development outside of the village of Enham Alamein, where Enham was founded almost 100 years ago to rehabilitate servicemen injured and disabled in action during the First World War.

Eight homes are under construction, offering a choice of apartments and bungalows in the heart of Andover.

Living in a central urban location means amenities, work, learning and leisure opportunities are within easy reach, and give disabled people the chance to live fully independently, and feel part of their community.

Enham Trust’s supported industry – Eastleigh-based furniture manufacturer Mount Industries – will be constructing the kitchens. Mount Industries is a hi-tech specialist manufacturer of furniture and storage solutions for schools and offices.

Originally part of the Mount Hospital, in Eastleigh, Mount Industries have been giving employment to disabled people for over thirty years. More than half the current workforce has a physical or learning disability.

Commercially run, Mount Industries now supplies more than 400 educational facilities and business in Hampshire alone.