The Gateway Collective originally approached Harrison Stringfellow to assist them in bringing the existing North Park Lodge back into active use to support and extend their existing activities within the neighbouring community garden.

A feasibility study explored options for the most efficient and practical way of bringing this building back into use and developing the site to suit Gateway Collective’s future plans.

The key requirements for the brief, in order of priority were: A flexible space for workshops, group activities such as cooking and prep of produce, storage, toilet facilities, office space and rentable space.

Following an initial feasibility study, a pre-application submission was made for the whole site which included the refurbishment of the Lodge as well as the construction of a new single storey pavilion within the garden boundary for workshops and cookery, which received favourable feedback.

Due to the availability of funding, and in order to address the immediate needs of the organisation and its long-term sustainability, the focus of the initial works were solely on a new building within the garden which will provide much needed workshop space, a kitchen for community cooking as well as a cafe, alongside some retail space for the products that Gateway Collective already sell at local markets such as jams, pickles and chutneys.

The Gateway Kitchen launched in 2023 with the arrival of the community cafe, based in 2 refurbished shipping containers, the cafe is a place for local people to get healthy, affordable food with the kitchen doubling as a warm, dry space for gardeners when the weather is bad.