All Saints Action Network

The organisation

All Saints Action Network (ASAN) is a community based charitable  company operating as a development trust in All Saints in  Wolverhampton. ASAN has been established, by local residents and local  organisations, to improve the quality of life for all those who live and work  in the area. The organisation has four main objectives related to:

1. Improving local services,
2. Developing enterprise,
3. Training and capacity building, 
4. Creating a sustainable approach to its activities.

The Workspace project

In pursuit of its asset development strategy, ASAN acquired a local former primary school, the former All Saints School, which had become surplus to the local authority’s requirements.

ASAN initially undertook feasibility work in 2002 and more detailed business planning to establish that the development of managed workspace for the building was viable. The acquisition of the building was finally achieved through negotiation with the former owner and with grant aid from Advantage West Midlands.

The organisation completed the refurbishment of the former All Saints School in October 2008. It is now known as The Workspace and incorporates a children’s centre, a community learning hub, conference and seminar facilities, changing facilities and business units.

The Workspace has a co-fired heating system using gas and biomass.

Design Impact workshop

The Glass-House Community Led Design led a Design Impact Workshop with Halifax Innovation staff and Tenants of the Innovation Centre in April 2010. During and following a walk around the centre, the group highlighted many of the aspects that the refurbishment has facilitated - what works well or not so well for them - and reflected on the opportunity for future change:

What is working well?

The building refurbishment has created a vibrant and busy centre, which attracts in many users and regular tenants. There is a combination of long term tenants offering services to the community, business start-up, and short term spaces to hire. The refurbished building has contributed to the regeneration of the neighbourhood and created jobs, facilities and opportunities for small businesses.

The Atrium, is greatly appreciated by staff, tenants and users. It is a real feature of the new building, bringing in natural light and a sense of space. Glimpsed through the glass doors in the reception area, it gives an unexpected first impression. It is a popular choice for room hire, conference organisers frequently asking for the 'room next to the atrium'.

The reception area works well, welcoming, greeting and maintaining security. Anyone entering the building has to check in here, where there is a comfortable waiting area, and visitors are met by the organisation they are visiting. All doors leading off the reception are secure, only tenants have access.

The Hall, which can be divided in two or kept as a very large room, has captured a niche conference venue market in Wolverhampton. Repeat custom on conference bookings shows that the building has gained a good reputation. The original wooden floor and the high ceilings, give an ‘old fashioned’ feeling which reflects the high quality finishes of both the original building and the refurbishment.

Office space is of high quality. Tenants using it enjoy the high ceilings and the long windows inherited from the school building – the natural light available adds value. There is a flexible attitude to space divisions, some tenants have effectively re-sized and redecorated rooms to better suit their client groups (for instance the Young Carers charity has reduced size of large rooms and given them different 'feels' – one more soft and relaxed, another for cooking, etc.)

There is secure parking directly outside the building, with overspill available when needed. This has been landscaped and the tree lined pathway enhances the building and lessens the impact of the cars.

The Biomass boiler, which heats the centre, uses pellets created by another business run by ASAN. This keeps running costs low, which means competitive service charges to tenants. The energy use is much lower than in the old building.

The garden for the nursery is charming and loved; it has overcome initial problems when lack of awareness of the requirements for this (e.g. height of the surrounding fence) meant that the original plans were insufficient to meet standards.

The way the Workspace is run was universally applauded. The tenants and users felt that they make it feel welcoming and it runs efficiently. There are many different users, and it can be difficult to keep everyone happy, but the management of the Workspace have somehow managed it!

What is not working so well?

The wide mix of users is sometimes hard to manage  – children, young people, regular tenants combined with outside hirings. It is partly a consequence of the success of the centre, but it does raise some issues, particularly around the mix of young children and large groups of adults in the building.

The conference hall has a lack of toilets – there are very few on that side of the building, meaning that with some conferences the participants need to have access to the Children’s Centre corridor. It also suffers from a lack of break-out rooms.

A newly created small business successfully caters for the conference hires. Not being able to prepare food onsite is a problem for the staff, they have facilities in a community hall next door, but food has to be pushed across the car-park (which has a rough and uneven surface).

The Nursery perceives a need for a separate entrance. It is placed furthest away from the reception, and parents need to drop off children before the main centre opens – requiring nursery staff to walk all the way through the building to let parents in.

Within the nursery itself, a door directly into the Nursery kitchen is required. There is a serving hatch, but no door. The current position of the door requires staff to walk out of the nursery room and down a corridor which wastes time away from the children.

DDA requirements to have the door release button in reception at a low level, mean that it is very easy for small children to use it which poses a danger as they could potentially run out of the building unobserved.

There is a lobby space just inside the Children’s Centre side of the building. This is used as a buggy park, although it was not originally intended for this use. However, a table with leaflets for centre users is tucked out of the way and not viewed and the design of the space means there is no other place it could go.

The Children's Centre lacks dedicated outdoor space.

Sports changing facilities are not frequently used. People have to get in through the Children’s Centre and it is very hard to make the location visible from the playing field alongside the building.

The flue for the biomass boiler is not high enough to effectively take away the smoke; there have been some complaints from neighbours and centre users about the unusual smell. Raising the height of the flue would resolve most of the problems.

Safety in rear car park is an issue, some people feel unsafe walking from the back of the building at night.

Top Tips from ASAN

• Don't stop planning! An early feasibility and then business planning is essential.
• Have a clear strategy worked out as to why the project should be taking place in the first place. Be clear about what the project is and how it will work. It’s important to have help in clarifying the aim and objectives for the project. This help will almost certainly involve the need for small scale development funding. 
• Having one person keeping the organisation focused on the project is critical to the project’s development. This person could be characterised as a project champion and plays the role of ensuring that other stakeholders are engaged through the development process. 
• Building projects are likely to take a long time to put in place. Every project is different and unique challenges will be thrown up as the project moves forward. People involved in the project development process need to be prepared for this and encouraged not to give up.
• Have a reasonable understanding of how to manage complicated funding packages and complex requirements from funders – or get help. It is sometimes necessary to bring funders together to discuss the project and again feeling confident enough to do this is important.
• The integrity of the project is everything. It’s important that as many key stakeholders as possible think the project is worthwhile. Key stakeholders will include the local community and individuals within it, major local players like the Council and then sub-regional and regional organisations. Ensure that all stakeholders are kept informed as the project develops and do not get left “out of the loop”.
• Have the backing of local people, as well as a vision – this is part of having a solid argument for your funders so that you can convince them of your vision
• Plan for flexibility – be ready for spaces to change when tenants sign up

Glass-House learning points:

• Some of the uses of the centre had not been envisaged prior to the completion of the refurbishment. This often happens, however hard the group works with stakeholders to 'get it right'. It is important to leave room for flexible spaces – allowing tenants to re-shape some spaces may be part of that.
• Consider uses such as a small catering business; is this something that might arise due to other planned activities?
• Consider different user needs – how are young children and large groups of adults going to move around a building? Do they need separate, distinct parts of the building as well as areas where everyone can mix? Do all staff and users need the same entrance?