Horatio's Garden – Sheffield and East

Creating tranquil healing spaces: Transforming urban environments into therapeutic gardens for spinal rehabilitation

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Every year, approximately 4,400 people in the UK sustain life-altering spinal cord injuries, joining a population of around 105,000 people already living with the condition across the UK. On average, patients with spinal cord injuries will spend five months rehabilitating at a specialist centre, many of whom will be isolated from their families often far from home, confined to a ward with little or no access to the benefits of the outside world. Gleeds is currently supporting Horatio’s Garden, a charity committed to improving the lives of those affected by spinal injuries, to deliver its eighth garden project at the Princess Royal Spinal Cord Injuries Centre, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield.

Designed by Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg from Harris Bugg Studio who together have won six RHS gold medals, the garden will feature a series of bespoke designed elements inspired by the history, geography and industry of its Yorkshire home.

Gleeds, building on its experience from previous successful projects, including Horatio's Garden Northern Ireland in Belfast, has been providing comprehensive project management throughout all phases of the project. From its initial display as a show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show where it won Best in Show to its legacy home in Sheffield, Gleeds has coordinated with the NHS and other stakeholders to navigate the complexities of working on a hospital site. Horatio’s Garden Sheffield & East will be one of the charity’s largest gardens and promote healing and wellbeing for thousands of people for years to come.

This project involves transforming an existing car park into a therapeutic garden designed to serve patients, staff and families at one of the UK's largest spinal hospitals. The garden will include 32 new trees and four distinct structures: a garden room, a greenhouse, an office/shed and a pod. The creation of this garden will play a critical role in the recovery process, providing a much-needed outdoor space where patients can engage with nature, aiding in both mental and physical rehabilitation.

Gleeds is providing comprehensive project management support, from the initial stages through to completion. This includes being involved in the project during the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and managing all phases to ensure the project meets the client’s needs despite tight timelines and charity budget constraints. Gleeds is also coordinating extensively with the NHS and other stakeholders to manage the complexities of the site, which includes dealing with invasive species, coordinating concurrent hospital works and managing unforeseen costs.

48

car parking spaces are being removed

32

trees to be planted

4

structures being built (garden room, greenhouse, office/shed, pod)

Challenges

  • Programme constraints: The project needed to commence before RHS Chelsea 2024, creating a tight schedule for contracts and tenders
  • Budgetary limitations: As a charity-funded project, budget limitations have required value engineering and some scope reductions
  • Coordination with hospital works: The garden's construction has coincided with hospital upgrades and is in close proximity to a National Grid substation, complicating logistics
  • Relocating a garden with complex logistics: This two-stage project involved transport, storage and build complexities that resulted in unforeseen changes and increased costs.

Solutions

  • Budget adjustments: Conducting workshops and meetings with the client and project team to identify feasible scope reductions
  • Effective coordination: Holding monthly meetings with the NHS and maintaining consistent communication to align actions and forecast programmes
  • Managing complex relocation of the garden: Thoroughly reviewing logistics and assisting with sourcing transport to ensure all adjustments are well-understood and managed.

Results

The ongoing work at the Horatio’s Garden Sheffield & East project is successfully transforming a car park into a therapeutic garden space which will support the physical and mental health of people with spinal injury. Additionally, the project has led to significant community engagement and provided the charity with additional funding through the reuse and recycling of materials from the award-winning RHS Chelsea show garden. Research shows the impact of the gardens reflected in 94% of patients reporting improved wellbeing and 91% reporting an enhancement of mental health.

Horatio’s Garden continues to work towards its vision of creating a rehabilitation garden in all 11 spinal injury centres across the UK, with future projects planned in Wakefield, Middlesborough and Southport. Its Sheffield & East garden will make a difference to people with spinal injuries across Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and North Cambridgeshire for many years to come.

Photograph © Marianne Majerus, taken at Horatio's Garden, Chelsea Flower Show 2023. Used with permission.

We are grateful to Gleeds for carefully project managing this large and complex construction from its award-winning display at RHS Chelsea Flower Show to its legacy home at the Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Centre where it will be a vital place for adjustment, reflection and privacy for people facing life-changing injuries and long stays in hospital across a huge geographical area.

Julia Dustan
Finance Director, Horatio’s Garden