CHILDREN’S HOSPICE IS STATE OF THE ART BUILDING

Work on Charlton Farm, the new Children’s Hospice at Wraxall near Bristol, which will provide sanctuary for families with children who have life limiting conditions, will be complete at the end of February.  The £9M build, the conversion of a listed farm on the Tyntesfield Estate for Children’s Hospice South West, will provide a much-needed boost in facilities for the South West.  Bristol based contractors Cowlin Construction Ltd commenced work in March 2005 on the listed and green field development, project managed by David Coles of Gates Partnership (also appointed as quantity surveyors) with Exeter based LHC Architects as lead designers, BSW Consulting (Exeter) responsible for structures, Howard Allan (Torquay) for M&E and Indigo from Salisbury dealing with landscaping.  Originally a derelict model farm set into rolling pasture and woodlands on the side of a gentle valley, it has taken more than 4 years to turn Charlton Farm, the second home to CHSW into a state-of-the-art building and wonderful example of great design and function. 

The blueprint used for Charlton Farm was Little Bridge House, the first Children’s Hospice South West based in North Devon also project managed by Gates and designed by Lacey Hickie Caley.  It was based on the success of Little Bridge House that Eddie Farwell; Chief Executive of CHSW felt Gates were the best choice to lead the team for the second retreat. 

Quote by Eddie Farwell, CEO of CHSW:

“As a client of Gates we have been pleased with their sensitivity and overall level of response to our very special project in Bristol.  They have paid attention to detail and we have been delighted to work in partnership with them.”

Quote by David Coles, Senior Partner of Gates Partnership:

“It has been a challenging project having to deal with listed buildings, green belt and historic parkland, but we see it as no problems, just solutions!  As well as Project Management, Gates provided the cost management as quantity surveyors for the project.  Whilst overcoming the planning difficulties and overseeing the design development, Gates produced a project brief with some 20,000 items contained within it. The brief was developed through consultation with staff, parents and the children who used the facility to create a vision of the ideal.  It is this vision that has been created in Charlton Farm.

Gates were also involved with the development of Little Bridge House in North Devon, the South West’s first children’s hospice and a blueprint for hospice design throughout the world.  David Coles was chosen by the client to manage the project due to his knowledge of the building requirements and ability to problem solve.  And Charlton Farm, acquired by CHSW from the estate of Lord Wraxall, certainly presented a raft of challenges to be faced and overcome long before works on site commenced. A key issue was the proximity of the farm to the Downs School and the grade 2 listing that this attracted, together with the green belt location and historic parkland setting. The obtaining of a planning permission was the initial aim, and this was achieved in April 2004 after some 15 months of design and negotiation and a scheme, which set out to fully utilise the historic buildings and bring them back to their former glory.  The farm, acquired by the Gilbert family in 1864, had fallen into terrible disrepair.  Comprising of a main farmhouse and a series of stone built barns together with a buttery, each building would need extensive refurbishment to bring it back into use and the sympathetic approach offered by the design convinced the authorities that the scheme would offer a future worthy of the setting.  The removal of a modern Dutch barn enabled the addition of the new children’s bedroom wing, built into the side of the valley wall and with views over the parkland. In all, some 2600m2 of accommodation is incorporated.

A traditional contract was utilised for the project, being the most sympathetic to the detail required to ensure the delicate planning permission was not compromised.  A two stage tender process led to the Bristol office of Cowlin Construction Ltd being appointed as main contractors who were fully committed to the ethos of the project and the team approach required, bringing extensive knowledge of the local market and enabling careful selection of sub-contractors and operatives.  It is true to say that all labour that has worked on the project has been ‘hand picked’ for their expertise and they can feel justifiably proud of that fact.

Work commenced in March 2005.  Initially a bulk dig and soil stabilisation to accommodate the children’s wing got under way, with soil deposited in re-sculpturing an existing valley rather than being carted off site.  With these works complete, the slow process of creating the waterproof box to house the wing commenced and it was many months before the structure moved out of the ground.  When it did move however, it moved quickly and works on the interior started in the first months of 2006.  In conjunction with works to the new, the existing buildings were catalogued and stripped back to their basic shell.  After extensive underpinning and the installation of new floors, original detailing was faithfully reproduced in the refurbishment with necessary amendments to accommodate the change of use.  Great resource went into repairing and replicating original features including roof structures and finishes, satisfying conservation commitments. The buildings have been designed to a high standard so as to keep maintenance to a minimum. Wherever possible materials have been re-used; as an example, virtually all the cobbles, flags and stone paving has been re-incorporated into the new works.  Some of these are thought to be over 400 years old.  The buttery, considered by the National Trust to be one of the finest of its kind in the country has had a complete overhaul, with a new roof and a full and complete rebuild of the extensive stained glass.   It will eventually hold a project archive and serve as the florist’s workshop. Wildlife has not taken a back seat with owls being actively encouraged t once more use the site as their home, and the farm pond, blue clay lined and a haven for summer wildlife, has been cleaned out and turned into a water garden for the children.  The formerly resident bat population found in the Upper Barn & Farmhouse has been re-housed with special access facilities in new bat roosts incorporated back into the roof spaces of these buildings during building works.  No bats were found in the Buttery.

Externally, the site has been remodelled with all the facilities needed to make it function.  It has an extensive play garden and a range of facilities from bike stores to implement sheds, together with roads, paths and car parking to serve the parents, children and up to 70 staff that may be on site at any one time.  And all this has been achieved without detracting from the parkland setting and the long views from a multitude of directions.  New water mains have been provided (the farm was originally fed from an “estate” supply).  With the installation of a new adopted sewer connecting to Portbury, a mile to the north a new BT fibre optic cable from the adopted highway some two miles away to the south, does this make Charlton Farm the longest building site in the west of England?

The first section, the upper barn comprising the key administration area, was handed over in April 2006 with the remaining buildings following at the end of November.  The poor weather delayed completion of the external works and extensive landscaping, this completing in February 2007.  Since handover, some 20,000 visitors have passed through the buildings to see what has been achieved with money raised purely from public donation. Charlton Farm, a flagship development for the provision of the very best in palliative care for children who have life limiting conditions, will be opening its doors on 30th April 2007, which will be a momentous occasion.

Contact:

David Coles/Project Manager – M: 07901916724

E: d.coles@gatespartnership.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

www.gatespartnership.co.uk 

Gates Partnership, has been established since 1947 and is celebrating 60 years in 2007.  They have 3 offices based at Barnstaple, Taunton and Plymouth and currently have 3 partners and 9 staff. 

The range of professional services include:

• Quantity Surveying
• Project Management
• Employers AgencyCost Planning and Cost Modelling
• Funding Advice and sourcing
• Partnering advice
• Contractual advice
• Technical Audit
• Planning Supervision
• Community Consultation

The types of project for which the Practice has been appointed is wide and varied including: 

• Housing
• Schools
• Specialist Building
• Industrial
• Retail
• Office
• Leisure
• Commercial