TELEVISION legend Angela Rippon cut the ribbon at a new care home.
The Cash in the Attic presenter officially opened Silversprings in Tenpenny Hill, Thorrington, and planted a tree in its grounds.
The £6million home will care for more than 60 residents, and has a dementia wing.
Ms Rippon opened the new home in her capacity as an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society.
She said: “It’s wonderful, it’s like walking into a lovely country house.
“The staff are patient and helpful, which gives people who have their loved ones here great confidence.”
Ms Rippon cared for her mother, Edna, when she was diagnosed with dementia in 2004, and she understands how simple things can make life better for those suffering with the illness.
She said: “Small things like colour coding doors and memory boxes can be extremely helpful.”
The opening of the care home brings the site’s troubled history to an end.
The application for the care home was approved more than seven years ago.
The former motel site was used to house the homeless, but tragedy struck in November 2005 when Courtney Bristow, five, died in a chalet fire.
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