The royal visit marked the official opening of the Beacon Centre for the Blind, an £18m state of the art centre for the visually impaired in the Black Country, developed in partnership with, Beacon Centre for the Blind, Bromford Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of affordable and supported housing and Loughborough–based contractor and developer William Davis Ltd.

 
HRH The Princess Royal was given a tour of the new facilities which include a 25,000 sq ft headquarters and administrative centre for the Beacon Centre charity, craft rooms, social rooms, a fully equipped recreational hall and gym, IT suite, a designated training and employment area, talking newspaper studio, charity shop and retail/catering outlets.  Her Royal Highness also met service users and residents who gave demonstrations of the activities available.
 
In addition, The Princess Royal was guest of honour to Dorothy Nickolls who proudly showed her some of the bespoke features for people with visual impairment, in her brand new home – one of 71 specially designed apartments, managed by Bromford Group available for shared ownership and rent.
 
Witnessing Her Royal Highness unveiling a commemorative plaque Ian Ferguson, chief executive, Beacon Centre for the Blind said:  "This has been a wonderful day. Service users and residents have been able to chat to the Princess about their lives at the Beacon Centre and how the new buidings have made such a huge difference. Our dedicated volunteers, staff and trustees have been recognised by the Princess for all the work that they do. It certainly is a very proud day for us all.”