Consultants_Unveil_State_Of_The_Art

Charlton Farm, Wraxall, the second hospice for Children’s Hospice South West, developed to provide sanctuary for families with children who have life limiting conditions is now complete. The £8m build, the conversion of a listed farm on the Tyntesfield Estate, will provide a much-needed boost in facilities for the South West.

Originally a derelict model farm set into rolling pasture and woodlands on the side of a gentle valley, it has taken the consultants involved in this project over 4 years to turn Charlton Farm into the superb building seen today and they are justifiably very proud of their achievements. To celebrate this success story the consultants have jointly organised an event to unveil the project to invited guests who will view the facilities before CHSW officially open the doors of Charlton Farm to families on the 30th April 2007.

The design team comprised of Gates Partnership as project managers and quantity surveyors with Lacey Hickie Caley Limited the Architects. BSW Consulting Engineers were appointed to look after the structures with Howard Alan managing the mechanical and electrical installations and Indigo Landscape Architects Limited overseeing the site works and planting. Bristol based contractors Cowlin Construction Limited were the contractors. With the exception of Indigo who were brought in to deal with the complicated planning issues arising from the setting of the development, this is the same team that built Little Bridge House, CHSW’s first hospice in North Devon.

The Consultants’ corporate event will open with a joint welcome address by project Manager David Coles of Gates Partnership, and Project Architect Grant Elliott of leading designers, Lacey Hickie Caley. David Coles will talk about the needs of the hospice and how the project was formed, whilst Grant Elliott, will outline the building specifics including the planning side and conservation. This will be followed by a presentation from George Cameron, Director of Fundraising at Children’s Hospice South West and guided tours of the Hospice for interested guests, culminating in lunch in the communal dining room.

“Charlton Farm is a wonderful example of great design and function and the consultants have all shown sensitivity to this special project. I am delighted that the consultants wish to utilise the hospice as a showcase to their clients and to be a part of this process.”

Cowlin Construction Limited commenced work in March 2005 on the listed and green field development with BSW Consulting, responsible for structures, Howard Allan for M&E and Indigo dealing with landscaping. The new hospice is based on the success of Little Bridge House, the first Children’s Hospice based in North Devon.

Gates were also project managers on this development, 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 CHSW from the estate of Lord Wraxall, certainly presented a raft of challenges to be faced and overcome long before works on site commenced.

“Dealing with listed buildings, green belt and historic parkland has made this a challenging project. As well as planning difficulties, we have had to oversee the design development. The blueprint used for Charlton Farm was Little Bridge House and Gates produced a project brief with 20,000 items contained within it, which was developed through consultation with staff, parents and the children who use the facility to create a vision of the ideal. It is this vision that has been created in Charlton Farm”.

“From the outset, Lacey Hickie Caley were sensitive to the challenges of designing a flagship development for the provision of the very best in palliative care facility that would meet both the practical and emotional needs of a children’s hospice as well as sitting sympathetically within the green belt landscape. The approach to the design was one of a sustainable conservation project through restoration of the existing structure and blending the new facilities to provide an integrated whole. It was important to bring together the original and natural surroundings with the care environment to provide a return to nature and a stimulating but safe haven for the children and their families.”

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 Limited being appointed as main contractors with work commencing in March 2005.

“Cowlins 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. They have been absolutely first class and worked tirelessly to build the vision for Children’s Hospice South West.” Says David Coles.

David Coles/Project Manager – M: 07901916724

Grant Elliott/Project Architect – T: 01392 444334

Work started at Charlton Farm in April 2004 with the demolition of the old Atcost Barn and the stripping out and salvaging of the remaining structures, which were to be incorporated in the re-build. The intent was to give all of the existing buildings a purpose and renewed life expectancy of many hundreds of years. In the early months we incorporated future provision for the wildlife that abounds on the site. Barn swallows and house martins have returned this summer and we have erected several new boxes for owls and other species. The farmhouse provided a summer roost for bats, we undertook all refurbishment of the roof areas during the winter months to avoid disturbance. New access points and enclosed roof areas have been provide for the building to be re-colonised, we will have bats in the attic again!

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.

A key issue was the proximity of the farm to the Downes 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.

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 mainshave 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.