Foundations for Living The Whole Story

The Housing Corporation’s Gold Award for excellence

Foundations for Living project is one of the 2008 Housing Corporation Gold Award winners for the Building Cohesive Communities category.

Foundations for Living is a landmark project delivered by the Papworth Trust which supports disabled people to be an inclusive part of their community, delivered through an innovative and inclusive approach to accessible housing, community learning, employment and community cohesion.

Foundations for Living includes three key elements:

• 24 affordable rented wheelchair accessible properties across three sites
• 22 private flats
• Saxongate Community Learning Centre, which is an inspiring and fully accessible space for disabled and non-disabled people including local businesses, community groups and Huntingdon Regional College.

The Foundations for Living project (FFL) started in 2001 in response to local need and national policy. ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’ clearly identified the multiple barriers experienced by disabled people; including a lack of suitable housing, high levels of unemployment, low skills, poverty, poor health and difficulties in accessing suitable transport.

The Papworth Trust is a charity and a registered social landlord. It consulted 28 disabled people living in residential care in a rural location about options for re-provision, led by the need to meet increased space standards and a desire for greater independence. The majority wanted to live in independent accommodation in an urban location near to shops, leisure and employment opportunities, and with less reliance on inaccessible public transport.

The Foundations for Living Project includes:

• 24 affordable wheelchair accessible properties across three sites in a town-centre location. The flats are built to exceed former Scheme Development Standards and reflect Papworth Trust’s expertise in detailed accessible design including wide corridors and doors, level access showers, height adjustable kitchen units, easy-to–access sockets and alarm/intercom systems, and assistive technology as required. At one of the schemes, Bradbury Place, accessible flats are ‘pepper-potted’ with a further 22 flats for sale.
• Individual support including personal care, housing support and community support.
• The Saxongate Community Learning Centre, which adjoins Bradbury Place, provides an inspiring and fully accessible space for the whole community including local businesses and community groups to run meetings, attend training programmes and to take part in community groups. It has nine training/meeting rooms including: two IT suites, an art room, an accessible kitchen, and two rooms with height adjustable interactive whiteboards. It has staff offices, an atrium café and hot-desking area. Huntingdon Regional College have based a number of services at the centre.

Download Whole Story document (pdf)