Tenants and staff at the housing development in Craigmount Brae kicked off the landmark anniversary celebrations with a party in the recently refurbished space, and Blackwood’s housing and care director, Angela Currie, gave a speech to mark the special occasion.

The popular lounge has been transformed with brand new furniture and luxurious accessories to give a cosy feel and has been given a fresh lick of paint to brighten the whole area.

At Laura Fergusson Court, the emphasis is on tenants being as independent as possible and they are encouraged to undertake all aspects of daily living tasks as best they can. Tenants’ input was an important part of the refurbishment process and they were involved in selecting everything from the colour scheme to the curtains.

Anne Fraser, a tenant at Laura Fergusson Court, said: “The revamped room is warm, welcoming, bright, beautiful and cosy. I definitely think our tenants here will be relaxing in this space a lot more now.”

Housing team leader, Jenny Deed, spoke of how the revamp was a fantastic way to mark the housing development’s 35thanniversary.

Jenny said: “The new lounge’s homely environment will hopefully encourage our tenants to get together, have a cuppa and socialise with one another on a more regular basis – not to mention give us a reason to organise more social activities and take full advantage of the modernised space.

“The development has changed a lot over the past 35 years and we have shared some wonderful memories. My favourite aspect of working here, however, has to be getting to know and spend time with those who stay here.

“We have worked with local business developments and taken part in community work to encourage our tenants to get involved in the local area and have an input into what is happening around the development.

“Here’s to the next 35 years!”

Enhanced housing development Laura Fergusson Court is situated in the residential area of East Craigs, to the west of the city of Edinburgh. The scheme was completed in 1979 and has 59 self-contained flats of various sizes.