The popular Link Nurseries in Powick welcomed VIP guests to celebrate a first birthday party against the odds after local NHS bosses threatened to shut the site down. West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin joined the team from Bransford Trust and staff from Warwickshire College Group and local people to mark the first year under new ownership. Last year, the NHS Worcestershire Health and Care Trust withdrew its staff and patients from the venue and moved patients to other sites in the county. But Harriett worked with the Bransford Trust and other local volunteers to try and find new supporters and she met with Warwickshire College Group to ask them to commit to expanding its services on the site. Courses have resumed at the nurseries including a Well Bean Gardening Club and other horticultural therapy courses. The site has also benefited from a make-over which has been welcomed both by local users and helpers, but also the general public who drop in to buy local produce. Harriett said: “Only a year on from the day when the NHS pulled the plug, the Link Nurseries seems stronger than ever and has ambitious plans to offer more courses to local people. “I have been really impressed with the way Colin Kinnear and the Bransford Trust stepped up and took over the site and Warwickshire College Group seeing the opportunity to do more at the valuable site and also pleased with the assistance of Malvern Hills District Council. “I have recently written to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt confirming my full support of this project and I hope that this first birthday celebration is one of many to come.” Bransford Trust’s Colin Kinnear added: “Bransford Trust has been delighted to be involved in the development of the New Link over its first year. The work put in by the clients, volunteers and WCG has been inspiring and long may it continue.” Photo: Colin Kinnear, of the Bransford Trust, Harriett Baldwin MP, Link Nurseries manager Phil Woodhead and Matthew Riddell, also of the Bransford Trust.