Whitfield & Brown delivered the Bewsey & Dallam Community Hub in Warrington in partnership with Warrington Borough Council and a wide range of stakeholders, creating a modern community facility designed to support health, wellbeing and social connection within one of the borough’s most deprived areas.
The new build development provides approximately 980 square metres of accommodation arranged over three floors. The ground floor offers a welcoming central reception space incorporating a café, digital wellbeing zone, library provision, flexible community rooms, office accommodation and welfare facilities. To the rear of the building, a linked single storey structure houses a learner and therapy pool with full changing facilities, first aid accommodation, stores and plant rooms, ensuring safe and efficient operation.
Health, wellbeing and inclusive design
The first floor of the hub accommodates a fully equipped fitness suite with associated changing and WC facilities, while the second floor provides a flexible studio space designed to support group activities, classes and community use. The building was conceived as a dementia‑friendly, fully accessible environment, with clear routes, high visual connectivity and inclusive facilities embedded throughout the design.
The compact footprint and stepped form of the building enable a wide range of uses to sit within a simple, legible structure, creating a light, welcoming environment that is easy to navigate and well suited to a diverse user group.
External works and site delivery
Extensive external works were delivered as part of the scheme, including new parking terraces, footpaths, fencing, gates, landscaping and associated drainage and service connections. The site is located within a residential area close to schools, a church, playing fields and a children’s playground, requiring careful management of site access and deliveries to prioritise safety and minimise disruption to local residents.
Whitfield & Brown implemented robust traffic management arrangements, programmed deliveries outside peak hours and maintained close communication with stakeholders to ensure the scheme was delivered safely and efficiently.
Client testimonial
“We’ve achieved our ambition to create a Community Hub which feels welcoming, inclusive and is actively used by local people. The Hub is a beacon project within a wider community-led regeneration programme which saw partnership investment in housing, green space and public realm. The location is ideal, right at the heart of our most deprived communities, tying in with existing local assets and providing an attractive visual focal point for the neighbourhood.
But most important is the quality of the facility – the design and décor is high standard, the inclusivity standards are the best in the borough and compete with the best in the country – this statement of quality and investment in place is crucial to local residents who have felt neglected in the past. We’re asking a lot from the building; it needs to flex to respond to individual and community needs and the offer we’re providing is multifaceted and integrated. There is no doubt it is delivering and will continue to adapt and mature as more community and professional partners engage”.
Eleanor Blackburn, Head of Inclusive Growth and Partnerships, Warrington Borough Council
Community impact
The Bewsey & Dallam Community Hub acts as a beacon project within Warrington’s wider community‑led regeneration programme, providing integrated leisure, learning and wellbeing facilities within walking distance of local residents. The hub actively supports improved health outcomes, social inclusion and access to services, while offering a flexible environment that can evolve to meet changing community needs over time.
The scheme stands as a strong example of Whitfield & Brown’s experience in delivering complex, multi‑stakeholder community buildings through Design & Build procurement, underpinned by collaboration, quality driven delivery and a clear commitment to social value.
