Two years of partnership working, and many more to come, will be celebrated when Clifton Cornerstone is officially opened on Thursday 3 August 2006.

David Atkinson, Chairman of Nottingham City Primary Care Trust (PCT), and Councillor Jon Collins, Leader of Nottingham City Council, will be joined by Councillor Eunice Campbell, Portfolio Holder Personnel, Equalities and Access, to unveil a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion and celebrate an £8.8m investment in local services in Clifton.

Clifton Cornerstone houses a variety of services providing a single point of access to heath, social care, housing, council and community information services all under one roof in the heart of the community.

This exciting new joint venture forms part of a shared Nottingham City Council and PCT strategy to improve access to services at a local level. Nottingham City Council has attracted over £11.3 million Private Finance Initiative support to the City from the Department of Community and Local Government. Clifton Cornerstone forms part of a network of Council Contact Points that include the City Centre Info Point opened in July 2006.

Construction work on Clifton Cornerstone, the City’s first One-stop Centre built in partnership with the Greater Nottingham LIFTCo, started in 2004 and staff and services moved into their new accommodation in April this year.

Partnership working between Nottingham City Council, Nottingham City PCT, Nottingham City Homes, local GP practices and the voluntary and private sector has been key to Cornerstone’s success in improving access to local public and community services.

The local community has also been involved in the two-year project, from helping to plan interior design and the concept of the Integrated Service Desk, to providing a name for the building. As part of a month-long consultation local people were asked to give their suggestions and Clifton resident Raymond Wheat’s submission ‘Clifton Cornerstone’ was chosen by a panel of local community representatives from more than 50 names put forward.

Mr Wheat will attend the official opening and be joined by Chief Executives, Chairs and Directors from Nottingham City Council, Nottingham City PCT, Nottingham City Homes, the Strategic Partnering Board and Greater Nottingham LIFTCo for an official photocall.

Staff who work at Clifton Cornerstone, service users and community representatives have also been invited to celebrate the official opening of this purpose-built facility. The two-hour event starts at 2pm and will include introductory speeches, the unveiling of a commemorative plaque, atrium displays charting the progress of the project and afternoon tea.

Clifton is one of five sites in Greater Nottingham to be developed to date by Greater Nottingham LIFTCo (Local Improvement Finance Trust) as part of a 25-year public private sector partnership (PPP) agreement between the four Greater Nottingham primary care trusts, Nottingham City Council, Partnerships for Health (Department of Health agency) and ExcellCare Ltd. These organisations will deliver 21st century primary care and public service facilities throughout Greater Nottingham, in the areas that need them most.