In August and September 2013 Knightstone Housing Association undertook consultation in the local area to help work up design options for the future development of the Carriageworks and Westmoreland House. This document is the report on that process, prepared by Vivid Regeneration.
Beautifully presented, thank you for all the hard work.
1. Keep Westmoreland House? Definitely yes, and employ local builders to take on unemployed local apprentices, some homeless, perhaps young offenders from Brigstock Road even.
Furthermore, there is its rich, recent history that deserves keeping–that of the organisation known now as SCOPE, formerly the Spastics Society. and its betting HQ. As national Chair of RESCARE, for learning disabled children, adults and their families, I would like to suggest that part of the renovation of the original building–instead of knocking it down–could be a tribute to the time that there were charities that were much more independent of government than they, and especially modern SCOPE, are now. There is much unhappiness in the disability world about what many campaigners see as SCOPE throwing disabled people out of their communal homes (see articles about the South Wales evictions), in the name of getting rid of so-called institutions.
A gentle, pictorial and maybe even workshop reminder of the history of SCOPE ias part of the retention of Westmoreland House is as important to some of us as is the more vintage Carriageworks, which by the way looks wonderful on paper.
Great comments Anita. By coincidence we’ve just had news of some funding to carry out a project around Westmoreland House’s history. We just need to sort out some details and will then tell more, probably at the 2 December meeting. Julian
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