Charles lends a hand to multi-million pound work (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Charles lends a hand to multi-million pound work

1:30am Tuesday 25th November 2008 in

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You’ve got to hand it to him – the Prince of Wales knows how to make a right royal impression.

Prince Charles gave 17-year-old Samantha Burns the giggles when he agreed to let her paint his hand a bright royal blue while visiting Cottingley’s Cornerstone project.

“As long as it comes of,” he teased.

The cheeky teenager’s request was too hard for the Prince to resist and he lent her a hand – the handprint will go up on a wall inside the centre’s youth room as a permanent souvenir of the royal day.

Samantha, who will be 18 on Friday, joked with the Prince that the youth club would not be the only club she would be able to get inside in a few days time when she comes of age.

“He was really fun. I never thought he’d let me paint his hand. I still can’t believe it,” she said.

The Prince of Wales also met trainee youth worker Nicole Scott who was 15 when she met him on his last visit to Cottingley in 2002, when he attended a service to rededicate the vandalised war memorial at St Michael and All Angels Church.

It was then he learned of initial plans to replace the crumbling church and hall with a £4.5 million community centre that was to become the Cornerstone Project.

He was so inspired by the community’s vision that he pledged support from his Foundation for the Built Environment and the Centre was brought to life. His support has not been forgotten by the local community who turned out to greet him – in and outside the building.

Also making a return visit was the Reverend Canon Sue Pinnington, the former vicar of Cottingley and chairman of trustees, who led the project from the beginning and was its champion throughout the development.

She left Cottingley at the end of October to become Rector of Houghton-le-Spring in the Diocese of Durham but she said she would not have missed yesterday’s visit for anything.

She said: “It just shows that dreams can come true. He kept his promise and it’s been a privilege to have him back. It just goes to show that when he makes a commitment to a project he really does commit and stick to it.”

Prince Charles took part in a round-table discussion with trustees and user groups before being taken on a guided tour of the complex.

More laughs erupted later when the Senior Citizens’ Club heard they had been expected to put on an aerobics display for the royal visitor. The Prince said he would have loved to have seen them show him how and then chatted with octogenarian Mollie Tilly who has been the club’s tea secretary for the last 20 years.

“I told him we’re having to give people fivers now on their 80th birthday because making a cake is just too expensive,” she said.

The Prince then went on to the computing suite to see a Silver Surfer’s session run by Shipley College. When he asked the class how many turned up to each session, one of them quipped: “We’ve got room for one more, if you’re interested.”

The Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend David James went on to lead a dedication service helped by pupils at Beckfoot, Nab Wood and Cottingley Primary Schools before the Prince made his way outside to be greeted by a cheery crowd braving freezing drizzle.

As he unveiled a plaque which will go up in the Centre he waved the Yorkshire flag covering it in the air before making his way to the microphone to give an impromptu speech to a delighted audience.

He said: “What an enormous pleasure it has been to join you for the opening of Cottingley Cornerstone Centre.

“I came quite some years ago under what were quite difficult circumstances and I’m so pleased that some of my organisations have been able to give a little bit of assistance in this development which I do hope will bring something extra to the community.”

And he added: “I also want to say how much I admire Sue Pinnington for all that she has done. I pray the Centre will have immense success in the future and make an enormous difference to the future of this community. I look forward in future years, if God spares me long enough to come back and see further developments which again I hope will make enormous difference to your lives.”

Before Cottingley, The Prince of Wales had paid a low-key visit to one of Bradford’s grandest regeneration projects.

Arriving in a blue Jaguar shortly before a torrential downpour, he was at Eastbrook Hall in Little Germany to officially declare the £12m project open.

His visit was the final finishing piece to what has been described at the city’s biggest-ever jigsaw.

It has taken years of painstaking workmanship and millions of pounds to restore the once derelict building and turn it into a complex of homes and retail units – fit for inspection by a King to be.

Last time the Prince visited Little Germany in 2001 many of its buildings were rundown and disused but yesterday it was a different story and Eastbrook Hall stood out as the jewel in its crown.

As president of The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, Prince Charles had encouraged his charity to get involved in the area’s regeneration and at last he was here in the city to see for himself just what had been achieved.

There was more media and security than crowds waiting to meet the Prince at his first stop-off in Bradford but the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Howard Middleton, said Eastbrook Hall’s completion was one in the eye for anyone doubting what Bradford could achieve.

“Everybody who said it’s Bradford and it’ll never happen – they’ve all been proved wrong. This is just what Prince Charles wanted to see. Old buildings that have been restored and put to re-use.”

The restoration has seen the former Methodist Cathedral of the North converted into 73 apartments and three commercial units.

During a tour of the building he was shown round one of the apartments, took a close look at the restored facade and took time to speak to traditional craftsmen who have worked on the three-year project, including stonemasons and glaziers.

Shona McInnes was the woman responsible for the building’s stained glass, she said she had been flattered by the Prince’s enthusiasm – her role in piecing back the building to its former glory took three months.

“It’s very flattering to have the Prince Of Wales tell you you’ve done a good job,” she said.

The project has seen the piece-by-piece demolition and reconstruction of the building’s striking Victorian façade, described at the time as “the biggest jigsaw puzzle in Bradford” – a massive fire in 1996 had left the Grade II listed building burned out and roofless.

e-mail: kathie.griffiths@telegraphandargus.co.uk ends