People living at Giboney Court in Cookstown celebrated the official re-opening of their newly refurbished lounge with a festive get-together just before Christmas. 

Residents of the independent living scheme, which is owned and managed by Clanmil Housing, were treated to mince pies and hot chocolate, before long-term resident Emily Davison switched on the lights of the Christmas tree.  

The celebration was an opportunity for residents to spend time in the new-look lounge which, along with the hobbies room, guest room and communal areas, has been redesigned, redecorated and modernised. The makeover is part of a £93,000 refurbishment programme at the scheme.   

Residents were fully involved at all stages of the transformation and reviewed a mood board of design ideas that included a new colour palette, fabrics, furniture, flooring finishes and focal point features in the rooms.   

The work was completed within eight weeks by CTS Projects, Warrenpoint, along with MCN Painting Contractors Ltd and Gate Interiors, who all made a huge effort to complete the work so that the rooms could be fully used during the Christmas holidays by residents and their visiting friends and families.  

Emily Davison who has lived at Giboney Court for many years, said she and other residents are delighted with the “fantastic” new interior: 

“It’s so up to date, such a difference to how it looked before and the colours are lovely.”

Clanmil’s Executive Director of Assets and Building Safety Tony Giffen commented: 

“Providing homes for people to live well is our main focus at Clanmil, and it’s also important that we maintain homes to a high standard, which is why we’re investing £500,000 during 2022/23 in updating properties like Giboney Court. The lounge is such an important shared space for residents to gather and socialise and we’re delighted that they can make full use of it and enjoy getting together with friends and family.” 

Rachel Harkness, Scheme Co-ordinator at Giboney Court added 

“It’s great that the people living here can gather in the newly refurbished lounge and enjoy spending time together for their coffee mornings and lunch clubs. It will be lovely in the spring and summer as the double doors open out into the garden area, where there’s a new greenhouse for residents to enjoy.” 

Have a look at this video showing how the scheme has changed: