Keeper's Lodge
New accessible community space
Rowntree Park is a 20-acre public park, 15 minutes’ walk from the centre of York on the banks of the River Ouse. Within the park is the former Keeper’s Lodge. This beautiful building has been dormant for some time, aside for housing the Explore Reading Café. This project will breathe new life into the Keeper’s Lodge, retain the existing café and transform the upper floors to provide a permanent administrative base for The Friends of Rowntree Park and accessible, renovated spaces for a range of community activities.
About our client
The Friends of Rowntree Park are a registered charity lad by volunteers love Rowntree Park and help care for it. The volunteers carry out a range of activities such as gardening, litter pick, caring for wildlife, running community events and projects, as well as focusing on education programmes, mental health and wellbeing.
Our role
We were appointed by The Friends of Rowntree Park to develop planning proposals, which received approval at the end of May 2024. We are now working with our clients to develop plans for the next stages of development.
Heritage building with a civic purpose
This project is a great example of how we approach civic projects. Our proposals create a fully accessible community venue where currently no level access is possible. We are respecting the heritage value of the building with minimal interventions that are in keeping with the character of the building externally. The project provides a best-practice example of dealing with the retrofit of an existing historic building fabric.
Drawings
Location
York
Client
Friends of Rowntree Park
Client Type
Custodian, Showcase
Sector
Civic
