Our recently completed project, The Branch in Chipping Norton, received a very special guest last week. His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh came to learn all about the work that The Branch Trust does in supporting up to 200 people in rural Oxfordshire each week.

The Branch, which completed on site last year, is a community hub in the heart of Chipping Norton. Its aim is to address issues facing 61% of the local population, who live in rural areas and struggle to access vital support services. The hub offers space to critical services such as Oxfordshire Mind, CAP Debt Centre, Citizens Advice and Oxfordshire Discovery College, amongst others, which gives residents the opportunity to access these services without having to travel into a larger town or city.

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh had the opportunity to meet young people from local schools who are benefitting from The Branch’s services. He also met community chef Nick Pullen. Nick originally collaborated with The Branch Trust during the pandemic, when he helped cook 46,000 meals for families in need. Since then, with the help of the fantastic new facilities at The Branch, Nick has created ‘Branch out and Cook’. Branch Out and Cook teaches young people, struggling to access education, essential life skills.

After his visit The Duke of Edinburgh said 'I would like to congratulate you on not just having the vision but actually seeing it all the way through. It has obviously been quite an adventure to get to this point and evidently also, just by seeing the sheer number of people you have engaged with, has been something which has been much desired and is doing some fantastic work’. We couldn’t agree more.

The visit has also been in the press including on ITV news and in The Crown Chronicles.

Before The Branch Trust, the building housed the old NatWest Bank. Revisit the complex journey of the building’s renovation and extension here. If you have a large renovation project in the pipeline, contact our SOLID team to learn how we can help you overcome your structural and civil engineering challenges.

Images by Stefanie Calleja-Gera

A Royal Visit to The Branch

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