Outdoor Learning and Community Centre

We are

The Grange Centre for People with Disabilities. A charity that supports people with learning disabilities to lead independent and fulfilling lives. This year we are celebrating 85 years in our lovely 8 acre site in Bookham, near Leatherhead in Surrey.

Our Project

We have planning permission to build a brand-new learning facility and community centre. This will extend a warm welcome to the public and be fully accessible to people with disabilities, for whom it will provide training, work experience and employment opportunities.

The local community, will be able to

• meet friends in an attractive and fairly-priced café 
• see everything our people at The Grange produce in one place
• make use of the flexible community space for group meetings, classes and events
• enjoy learning new skills through the pottery and our other studios
• hold events in a beautiful outdoor setting.

The new centre be open seven days a week and will include:

• Café. Open to the public. Staffed mainly by people with disabilities. Sample our legendary scones and cakes or sit down to a healthy freshly made lunch in the lovely setting of the Grange gardens. Outdoor tables available when the weather is good. 
• Shop. Offering unique Grange cards, mugs and embroidered items – all produced by the people we support. Whether you want a personalised gift for someone you love, a solid oak bird table for the garden, tasty fudge or honey from our own bees. Plants, fresh fruit and vegetables grown on site – there’s bound to be something there for you.
• Pottery. During the day our potters will be learning new skills and developing their creativity. In the evenings and weekends the studio will be available for public hire. 
• Community Room. Local groups will be able to hire this for meetings, drama rehearsals and more. With moveable walls it will open out to allow the café area to be used for larger meetings and performances, with the kitchen also available.
• Changing Places. A special facility to ensure that people with more complex disabilities can have access to a fully equipped toilet and changing room. This is part of a nationwide network, and will be available 24 hours a day.
• New Horticulture and Woodworking facilities. We plan to replace our dilapidated outbuildings with new accessible studios and workshops, which will ensure that we can provide a flexible, comfortable and eco-friendly learning environment for everyone.
• Greenhouse. A spacious, heated greenhouse within our beautiful walled garden will replace our old polytunnels, and allow skills learning sessions throughout the year.
• Eco-friendly features. Energy efficient heating, solar panels, turf roof, electric vehicle charging points and additional cycle racks will help us reduce our carbon footprint. We’ll be planting more trees and regenerating garden areas. 

People with disabilities and their families will find a particular welcome, with everything designed for easy access and inclusion.

Visit Outdoor Learning & Community Centre » The Grange Centre for people with disabilities for more details of our plans, and how you can help us.

Why this project is so important

Many people with disabilites would love to find a job. This is one of our main aims in helping them towards independence. However, in South East England, only 7% of adults with learning disabilites are employed.

This project will enable the people we support to:

• acquire skills and knowledge that will help them find employment
• gain work experience in retail, catering, horticulture and woodworking
• work in an environment that is caring and supportive but nevertheless a fully commercial enterprise
• develop their creative abilities and have the satisfaction of seeing their handiwork on sale to the public.

More about The Grange

We provide accommodation for people with disabilities, supported living social care and our Skills for Life programme, offering training including catering, creative arts and embroidery. We nurture mini enterprises for people to build their confidence and employability. 

Learn more about the Grange through our website: The Grange Centre for people with disabilities.

Funding

We are asking Your Fund Surrey for £1.9 million, which is about 38% of the total project budget (£5million). The Grange has set aside a significant proportion of its reserves for the project. We have over £800,000 in hand and are actively fundraising.

We’ve had lots of public support already, “A community space that fits in with the ethos and welcoming atmosphere of The Grange.” “The same happy, warm friendly vibe that I received when visiting Courtyard Café – thank you!”

The people we support are 100% behind the Centre, and eager to see building begin. Fliss says, “I’m looking forward to proper paid work in the new café.” “I’d like to bring in new customers. I enjoy meeting new people” (Lottie). “I would like better, warmer, horti buildings – to learn more” (Jamie).

A team of eighteen of us are training hard to complete a 5k Colour Obstacle Rush Course on 20th May – would you like to sponsor us? Colour Run 2023 » The Grange Centre for people with disabilities