Local charity has the key to their future thanks to Council support

Age Scotland Orkney (ASO) have secured a long-term future premises within the town centre thanks to support from the Council.

ASO were able to purchase their existing office base at 46 Victoria Street in Kirkwall after receiving a loan from the OIC.

James Stockan, Council Leader, said: “The Council really recognise the invaluable contribution of local third sector partners like ASO make across our islands, and were very pleased to be assisting in a way which helps secure their long-term future to support those across Orkney who benefit from their service.”

The charity had been renting the property from Orkney Housing Association Ltd since 2015 and have long-term plans to continue developing their services long into the future following taking ownership of the building.

Gillian Skuse, Chief Executive of ASO, explained: “We have been in our Victoria Street offices for over five years and the service has changed and grown so much during that time. Even before the 2020 pandemic demand for our services was continually growing. Last year saw our whole community focus on helping others which was one of the real positives. Our staff team were amazing throughout in how they overcame challenges to deliver support that the older and more vulnerable people across Orkney needed.”

In setting out how the building purchase will make a difference, she added: “We now have a great permanent base in the centre of town which we will adapt over the coming years to ensure it has all the facilities that our clients need and expect from us. Our Dementia Hub, Here2care and Here2Help services, carer support and podiatry clinics will continue to be delivered along with potential for some new future services.”

Craig Spence, Chief Executive of Orkney Housing Association Ltd (OHAL) said: “Supporting people in our community is a big part of what we do. Having rented the property to Age Scotland Orkney for several years, this was a great opportunity to enable them to develop and grow their really important service locally. They support several of our tenants, and this transfer of property will help ensure they can continue to support all those in our community who rely on them”. He added “It also releases some money for OHAL which we can use to build homes and support our tenants in different ways”.