Kirkleatham Walled Gardens & Catering Academy
Location: Kirkleatham, Redcar
Client: Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council
Status: Completed 2019
Project Description:
IDPartnership were appointed by competition to design and deliver the Kirkleatham Walled Gardens scheme on behalf of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council in 2016.
Set in the formerly derelict Grade II listed Victorian walled garden of the Kirkleatham Estate, the scheme consists of an extensive contemporary landscape design for visitors to explore 365 days a year, catering academy with restaurant and commercial kitchen, horticultural academy with new glasshouse, rebuilt ‘Bothys’ creating exhibition space, and a 350-seat events pavilion.
The scheme looks to capture the character and history of the wider estate through building design, and the themes that run through the activity focused gardens.
The project has two key aims:
Provide educational opportunities through the facilities provided
Create a visitor attraction that will give the opportunity to explore and celebrate the Kirkleatham estate and its history.
The catering academy will be used by local colleges and educational establishments to provide hands on experience contributing to industry recognised qualifications. This facility contributes to the training opportunities available. The gardens will provide outdoor learning opportunities for the neighbouring Kirkleatham Hall Special school. Additionally, several local schools will establish allotments within the garden to feed into their curriculums. The horticultural facilities on site will be a ‘showcase’ for the existing horticultural training taking place on the estate. Similar to the catering academy, this training targets school leavers, providing valuable training and employment opportunities. The facilities provide a new active outdoor leisure offer leading to a healthier community, opening up opportunities for visitors to spend time relaxing, exploring, and learning about Kirkleatham’s history.
The scheme celebrates the diverse history of the Kirkleatham estate. The gardens tell the story of over 400 years of the estate from their connections to The East India trading company to the fishponds only 200 metres from the site. The scheme is a destination that will open up Kirkleatham as a regional tourist destination aiming to attract 30,000 visitors per annum to the region, having a positive impact on the wider area.
As part of delivering the works, a new access was created from the A174. This minimises additional through village traffic.