Project: Ordsall Community Cafe
Location: Ordsall, Salford
Value: £250k

Initiated by the local community on Salford’s Ordsall Estate, with the aim to create a community focused centre/facility that would be self-sustainable, working alongside organisations such as Community Pride and Salford Community Venture to enable the community to make decisions themselves about what facilities were needed and where they would be best located.

This community consultation developed a brief for the refurbishment of a wonderful, red-brick, Victorian End-terrace property in the centre of the estate to provide a Community Café and associated meeting/function rooms for use by local community either for community meetings or for hiring out for functions or as a starting point for local enterprises.

In a public area, prone to vandalism, part of the design brief required a secure solution that retained a welcoming face to the community. While the building’s age does not allow easy access, close work with building control and best practice access guidelines has produced satisfactory, but economic, improvements throughout 3 floors of the building.

Due to budget and funding constraints, in close consultation with the group and funding bodies the project was split into three phases. This was in response to an analysis of who would pay for what and when the money was required to be spent:

Phase I Enabling Works: Stripping out existing fabric and carrying out specific investigations/surveys.

Phase II Construction Works: Refurbishment of Ground Floor and Basement including structural alterations, roof repairs, basement tanking, improving accessibility, installation of platform lift, and provision of fully decorated kitchen, café toilets and services as set out in the Brief.

Phase III Construction Works: Refurbishment of First Floor and Second Floors including services and redecoration.