Grimwood Road Garden Site
In partnership with Richmond Council, Habitats & Heritage are working with local residents and voluntary organisations across south and west London to find a new use for an unoccupied horticultural space in the heart of Twickenham.
Updates on Grimwood Road Garden Site are published on our blog.
The Twickenham Training Centre, also known as the Twining Centre, in Grimwood Road, Twickenham was originally built as a day centre for adults with mental health issues and is Council owned with Achieving for Children (the Council’s Children’s Services provider) using the site to provide training and conference facilities for schools and other local groups.
Alongside the building is a garden site, including a greenhouse and raised beds that were previously used to provide horticultural workshops and courses for people with learning disabilities but is currently vacant.
Following the awarding of funding from the Council’s Local Area Fund, Habitats & Heritage is looking to support a programme of engagement with local groups and organisations to better understand how the site could be used to benefit the local community.
It is anticipated that the garden site will be let to a voluntary sector or not for profit organisation who will maintain and manage the garden to deliver services which reflect the local need. This could include gardening activity to support people with learning disabilities, mental health issues, those who are suffering from loneliness and isolation or other vulnerabilities.
“The garden site on Grimwood Road presents an invaluable opportunity for a local group or organisation to provide a community focused service for the benefit of their service users and the local community.
Such opportunities rarely present themselves and could be utilised to great effect by a local group. I encourage any groups or organisations who work with residents with learning disabilities, mental health issues, or residents suffering from loneliness and isolation or other vulnerabilities to contact Habitats & Heritage and to tell them how the site and garden could benefit your local group and the residents your group works with.”
Cllr Michael Wilson spokesperson for Communities, Equalities & the Voluntary Sector
Over the coming months Habitats & Heritage will be working with interested groups and residents to explore how the garden site can be brought back into use. Working in partnership with local organisations, the project will include helping to generate ideas, assessing their suitability, and working with pre-screened parties to submit a formal expression of interest.
The site at Grimwood Road is currently not open to the public, however we are looking to hold several community days where local residents and interested parties can visit.
To find out more or to be kept informed of the project please contact Colin Cooper on grimwood@habitatsandheritage.org.uk
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