A Bradford-based charity which helps children with Down’s Syndrome and their families has won a public vote to scoop a cash award which will enable it to employ more staff and move premises.

The Down Syndrome Training and Support Service, based at the Pamela Sunter Centre in Town Lane, Thackley, was shortlisted for the final public voting stage of the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund programme earlier this year and now the charity has found out it has been awarded £5,000.

Dr Wendy Uttley, group coordinator, said: “We are all very excited and it is great to think that we have been voted one of the winners out of 1,400 nominated charities. A big thank you to everyone who voted.”

The money will be used to fund a new early years practitioner, a qualified teacher who will deliver the charity’s early development groups and support parents and carers to learn techniques to help their child’s pre-school development.

Some of the cash will also go towards the charity’s planned move to Bingley at the end of the year.

Dr Uttley said: “By the end of this year we will have been in our current premises for four years. At the beginning of January 2009 we moved from a very small office in Bradford 9 to what was to become known as The Pamela Sunter Centre, named after Pamela Sunter whose legacy funded the majority of our expenditure until December 2011. At that time we were supporting 140 families and 70 organisational subscribers.

“Since then we have grown to employ six staff and five volunteers at the office supporting 270 plus families and 190 plus organisations through the training, group sessions and many other services we provide.

“Our lease is due to expire on December 31. We finally decided to take the plunge as we need more space for our office staff and our groups.

“Our new base will be in Bingley and we have recently started proceedings to lease 2, Whitley Street; a building that is about three times the size of our current premises and half the rent.

“The ground floor will be used to deliver group sessions and training, the first floor will be offices and the second floor will be developed into a youth club for young people with Down syndrome and their friends and siblings.

“We have already submitted two funding bids to cover moving and developing costs and we are very excited about the potential facilities and services the move will enable us to provide.”