A CHARITY which supports the neurodivergent community in Andover and wider Hampshire is hoping to open an education, community and office space in a vacant town centre unit.

More Education, encompassing Koala Academy and Koala Community Hub, has major plans to transform 83 High Street, Andover, which was previously the premises of Race Dynamics.

The charity which helps people with conditions such as autism, has been utilising The Bridge, in Bridge Street, but the “growth of the community hub and the educational offer has been exponential" that it needs more space. 

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Andover Advertiser: Artist's impression of how a meeting room in More Education's hub could look

Its planning application states: “Given the vulnerability of our community, it is imperative that we access our own secure space where we can control who has access during sessions - in the past, this has not always been possible and has led to some difficult safeguarding concerns.

“Moving to our own building will allow us to continue supporting the local community to access local services. This will continue to relieve the pressure on local mental health services, as well as mitigate pressure on schools, colleges and GP services.”

The charity said that being in the town centre will also help raise its profile “ensuring that we can be accessed by more families and adults that may need our support”.

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Within the new building, the charity’s self-advocacy training will be adapted for younger people, its training offering for other charities will be developed and its educational provision expanded “bringing much-needed funding”.

It will also allow the charity to have opening hours for the public for those “who have wanted to visit the hub, but have not been able to access The Bridge”, adding: “This would enable people to come and visit the space when it was quieter”.

The space would also be a meeting place to host meet-ups for working groups, provide more peer support groups, and more training for parents, adults and community members.

The charity has secured funding and fees for two years of operations and once it can expand its part-time education provision the site will be self-funding. It added: “Koala Community Hub will continue to seek funding from the NHS Integrated Care Board and Hampshire County Council to run the adult mentorship programme and we hope to access funding to extend this to our young people.”