GENEROUS donations have paid for a £5m centre for people suffering from dementia.

Staff at Vale House, in Sandford-on-Thames, near Oxford, are celebrating after completing a fundraising campaign which has paid for the new centre five years after it opened. It was funded with £3m-worth of donations and a £2m loan.

The funding milestone means Vale House, which was set up 27 years ago in Botley, west Oxford, can now divert cash to new projects for patients.

Trustee, Jane Cranston said: "We all share pride in Vale House and thank all those who have given, and continue to give, so much support to us.

"When the then trustees took the brave step to move from the 20-bed home in Botley to our wonderful new purpose-built building they knew that they didn’t have enough pennies in the bank to fulfil their aims.

"They therefore had to rely on two two sets of people.

"One was Handlesbanken, which agreed the £2m loan that was needed, and have been extremely supportive of Vale House.

"The other people were the fundraising committee led by Richard Dick who put hours of time into writing personal letters and leading the fundraising committee. We can’t thank them enough for all they have done for Vale House."

Among the fundraising activities is the Strictly Oxford dance event, which helped raise £180,000 over six years.

The original Vale House was opened by Princess Diana in 1990. Dementia patients were cared for at a 20-bed building, though demands for more space saw the launch of plans to build a new facility.

The new building offers double the capacity, plus extras including a meeting room dressed to look like a pub, and a music space with a piano, where patients can relax in familiar surroundings.

The building is circular to avoid closed off corridors and doors, which can be frustrating for dementia sufferers.

Ms Cranston added: "The greatest accolade to add to the celebrations came in 2016 when Vale House became the first care home in Oxfordshire to be awarded ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission.

"This recognition gives us all enormous cause for pride."

The team at Vale House which runs as a not-for-profit organisation is now looking to provide more outreach programmes for other people in the county with dementia and their families.