Case study: Age UK Sheffield
How Age UK Sheffield used our funding to refurbish the Old Coach House in Hillsborough Park
The project
The Old Coach House is a listed building in Hillsborough Park in Sheffield. After undergoing refurbishment, it opened in 2022 as a centre providing dementia-friendly services and activities for older people, alongside a community café.
The Old Coach House (as well as the Potting Shed next door) have been restored to allow a broad range of activities and events to take place there, helping to reduce the loneliness and isolation faced by many older people. As well as providing the space for activities, the Old Coach House brings a sense of community to Hillsborough Park with its new café welcoming visitors daily.
The organisation
Age UK Sheffield is a local charity and social enterprise which exists for the benefit of people aged 50 and over in Sheffield. It does that by providing information, advice, representation and services, with the aim of supporting and enabling older people to live independent and fulfilled later lives.
The funding
The Old Coach House was in a state of disrepair. Funding was needed to bring life back to the building and make it a functional space for Age UK Sheffield to use.
Steve Chu, former Chief Executive of Age UK Sheffield, said: ‘In 2017, we were aware that resources for older people in Sheffield were being reduced and dementia respite centres were being closed down. We identified the need for a building where group activities could take place and worked with Sheffield City Council to find a building that might be suitable. The Old Coach House was perfect but was in a dilapidated state and urgently needed refurbishment.’
In 2018, the charity had secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Architectural Heritage Fund, but this funding was conditional on additional partnership funding being in place.
Steve explained, ‘We narrowed down a list of other capital funders who might have been interested in our project and its potential impact. The Wolfson Foundation were the first of these to support us when they awarded £80,000 to the project. This helped to leverage additional funds, as once you have one or two capital funders in place, it gives others assurance.’
Grant Fact File
Grant Programme:
Health & Disability, Charities working with older people
Year awarded:
2019
Amount:
£80,000
Project location:
The Old Coach House in Hillsborough Park, Sheffield
The Old Coach House, Hillsborough Park
Key milestones
Steve Chu, former Chief Executive at Age UK Sheffield, outlines the key milestones for the redevelopment project.
Initial Idea
Our 2018–21 Strategy identified that our offer of more social, group-based activities was limited. We also identified the need to diversify our sources of income, which were dependent on grants and contracts at this time. The Old Coach House project offered the opportunity to generate independent sources of earned income through the community café and events space.
Considering practicalities
Sheffield City Council agreed to support the project if we were able to secure funding. As the building was listed, it was important to consult a heritage architect.
Preparing our Stage 1 application
We prepared our Stage 1 application to the Wolfson Foundation. We followed the information provided on the website but emailed the Programme Officer for Health & Disability to clarify a couple of things.
Invitation to apply for Stage 2 & confirmed funding
Once our Stage 1 application had been approved, we were invited to apply for Stage 2. We later found out that this application had been successful, and we received £80,000 from the Wolfson Foundation to support the project.
Securing National Lottery Heritage Funding
Once we had confirmed funding from the Wolfson Foundation, this helped with securing National Lottery Heritage Funding, which was conditional on secured partnership funding. We also secured planning permission at this stage.
Site work begins and the project evolves
It was important for us to stay flexible as work progressed. In the end, we realised that the Old Coach House wouldn’t be large enough to suit our needs completely, so we refurbished two outbuildings (including the Potting Shed) at the same time.
Work completed and the building opens
In March 2022, the refurbished Old Coach House opened as an events space and community café.
- The charity communicated a really clear need, and ambition, to have their own building to improve access to their services for older people. We felt they’d chosen a great site, consulting the local community and working closely with the City Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund to breathe new life into a neglected historic building, as well as having realistic plans for fundraising. We were also impressed by the entrepreneurial approach in opening a café and offering venue hire at the site, creating new income streams.
Mark Davies, Programme Manager (Science & Health)
The impact
Steve said: “The redevelopment of the Old Coach House has been a huge success. Now that we have our own building complex we can offer a much broader range of activities, from singing to printmaking, and the building is used as a Dementia Wellbeing Centre throughout the week. The building has benefitted the community in so many ways, and we have partnered with a local social enterprise called Rivelin Co who used their space for events such as Creative Writing for Wellbeing and Andy’s Club, a group focused on men’s mental health.
The building is also a café, which has provided a new income source for the charity. As outlined in the initial strategy, it was important for us to diversify our sources of income and become less reliant on grants and contracts. Having this as a stable source of generated income has meant we can do more as a charity.”
Craft activities at the Old Coach House, image courtesy of Age UK Sheffield.
Looking ahead
Steve said: ‘The initial capital project has been great for kickstarting new initiatives and income, but we want to continue to build on that. We know that the development is there. Now that we have established a baseline of activities, it’s important that we consistently spread the word about what we are offering. We recognise an opportunity to build on public engagement through community fundraising (bake sales, legacies, fun runs) on site. We also want to drive the commercial elements of the project by hiring out the building for corporate events or as a wedding venue.’
What would your top tips be for a similar organisation applying for funding?
When preparing your application, make sure to have a coherent narrative that tells a story about your project. Being truthful and open about what you want to achieve will speak volumes
At the same time, it’s important to accumulate evidence to demonstrate the need for your project such as community consultation, user surveys or third party endorsements
Consider how your project will meet the funder’s charitable objectives as well as your own. State very clearly how the aims of your project align with what the funder is trying to achieve
