Illustration of a community park with walking paths, trees, a playground, small buildings, and residential apartments in the background.

Conversion of an existing building into therapy rooms for a social enterprise

HSA are excited to have been appointed to design phase 1 of Growing Sudley CiC’s capital project based in Mossley Hill, South Liverpool.  This is the fruition of a long-standing relationship with the site and will see a disused council owned changing room repurposed into a Health and Wellbeing Hub, with the aim of being a carbon neutral building.

Director, Su Stringfellow, originally became involved in the project when the friends group put out a request for volunteers to help transform the Victorian Walled Garden on the site.  In an era of council budget cuts, to secure a long-term sustainable future for this public parkland, Su helped to co-found a social enterprise to deliver activities. Initially, pilot projects were undertaken to test out what might work in the space as well as what appetite the local community had for the idea.  This included targeted sessions for vulnerable adults as well as the Outdoor Club during school holidays for children age 5-11. Now in its 5th year, it has become a firm favourite with local children.

The income generated from these paid activities, such as the holiday club and from the therapy rooms, will be reinvested into providing free activities in the walled garden which support health and wellbeing through nature.  The walled garden design has been developed in conjunction with the community and participants with HSA collaborating with Howard Miller Design to bring to life these suggestions which will begin to be installed towards the end of the year.

The existing configuration of the changing room building is ideal for therapy rooms with minimal structural alterations required.  Following a fabric first approach, as well as the mantra ‘the greenest building is the one that already exists’, HSA are; insulating the building externally, installing a new green roof and growing frame, and using MVHR and air source heat pumps to provide heating and ventilation. Recent workshops with children have helped shape ideas about what the final scheme might look like and explorations for wildlife habitats and community recycling are underway.

For more information on the Sudley Forest School click here.

2021

Two children in dark jackets and rain boots standing outdoors on grass with wildflowers and tall plants.
Illustration of six diverse people standing on a patch of grass with small flowers, raising their arms in celebration against a white background.
Digital illustration of a woman in a large yellow hat planting a small plant in a patch of soil, with hand-drawn flowers and plants around her.
Long brick wall with multiple colorful graffiti tags and murals, surrounded by trees with autumn foliage, on a grassy area.
Floor plan of Growing Sudley's ground floor with labeled therapy rooms, community room, bike store, restrooms, store, therapy rooms, office, and meeting room.
Woman with reddish hair working at a desk with an iMac computer in a bright room. There is a potted plant, a container with pens, and a document on the desk. A large hand-drawn poster about green building ideas is on the wall behind her.
Two children sitting at a dining table with drawing papers and markers, watching a tutorial on a laptop, in a bright room with a sliding door showing outdoor greenery.
A group of women engage in conversation near display boards on plant growth and gardening, with people examining a garden plot in a sunny outdoor setting surrounded by trees and old buildings.
Close-up of dirty, black-painted hands held out, with a yellow raincoat and boots seen in the background, on a grassy area.
Group of people gathered outdoors in a park, smiling and celebrating, with some holding bouquets of flowers and others making gestures of joy.
Four people in a backyard garden planting vegetables with watering cans, two women and two men, with trees and shade in the background.

Related Projects

Two young people, a man and a woman, with backpacks, picking a sunflower in a lush garden filled with colorful flowers and green foliage.

Growing Sudley Walled Garden

Engagement journey with social enterprise

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The Changing Rooms, Growing Sudley

Community sustainable retrofit of derelict building

People gathered outdoors in a garden with trees, tents, and a small wooden stage, attending an event on a sunny day.

Growing Sudley Community Open Day

Community celebration for changing rooms