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 supported 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 features 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, provided 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 coordinated with the NHS and other stakeholders to navigate the complexities of working on a hospital site. Horatio’s Garden Sheffield & East is one of the charity’s largest gardens and will promote healing and wellbeing for thousands of people for years to come.
This project involved 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 now includes 32 new trees and four distinct structures: a garden room, a greenhouse, an office/shed and a pod. The creation of this garden is playing 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 provided 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 also coordinated extensively with the NHS and other stakeholders to manage the complexities of the site, which included dealing with invasive species, coordinating concurrent hospital works and managing unforeseen costs.
