Princess Royal opens £2m learning and development centre for deafblind adults

The Princess Royal has officially opened a new centre for deafblind adults.

Charity Deafblind Scotland spent a decade campaigning and fundraising for the £2 million learning and development centre in East Dunbartonshire.

The princess toured the building which has a recording studio, arts space and high-tech IT room, and has been designed to help people who have lost both sight and hearing.

The Field of Dreams centre in Lenzie is acoustically-neutral with sound and light absorbing surfaces, and gives the charity’s 800-plus members a place to socialise and find support.

Deafblind Scotland chairman Bob Nolan (pictured, left) said: “After 10 years of hard work, fundraising and public support, we were so proud to welcome Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and our members here today to mark this special occasion.

“As the only charity in Scotland to support adults who acquire deafblindness at some stage in their life, we wanted to create a centre where members could meet and interact.

“In 2007, we identified the perfect location in Lenzie which became our ‘Field of Dreams’ – a vacant space where we could turn our idea into a reality.”

The charity’s chief executive officer Ruth Dorman (pictured, right) said assistance for a person who is either deaf or blind is often not suitable for those with severe dual sensory loss, meaning deafblind people can become “isolated from the community in which they live”.

She added: “We hope our centre will provide everything our members could need to make them feel at home in the community.”

_{Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2017, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Jeff Holmes / Deadblind Scotland / PA Wire.}