St Luke’s submitted for planning

We have recently submitted our plans for St Luke’s Church in for planning. The reimagination plans of the church, is designed to help continue the community support work that the church already undertakes, will add a café and garden.

The Reverend Annie McCabe commented that they plans will ‘improve the visual appeal of the building to be inviting and accessible’. The plans will convert the existing church hall into a café, with a new porch structure added. The existing car park will be redeveloped as a flexible, community garden space.

The designs for the church will help to expand the community outreach projects the church is already involved in. Three years ago, the church launched a shared working space, coffee bar, meeting space with high-speed wifi, this redevelopment scheme looks to continue the positive progression of the work already started.

It was fabulous to see these redevelopment plans featuring in The News, the local newspaper for Portsmouth, with such positive community comments about the scheme. We hope to have a positive response from the council by the end of February 2023.

Parklets installed in Eastleigh

Last year we worked with Eastleigh Borough Council on a feasibility study of the town centre, the council were looking at ways to invigorate the space through permanent and semi-permanent interventions which have now started to be installed across the town.

One of our key design ideas was the installation of Parklet structures. These modular seating units are designed to soften the retail street, with planting and a place for people to stop and sit. The seating encourages people to dwell and engage with the surroundings, helping to positively support the local retail and restaurant outlets by creating vibrant social gathering points.

The modular units include tiered planting and bench seating, constructed from corten steel with a wooden bench seat. The design is inspired by Eastleigh’s industrial heritage as a train hub, with the modular units taking design cues railway design.

Professional photos will be taken soon, these are quick snaps on my phone – apologise for the quality!