A new multi-million-pound community hub has officially opened in North Wales, creating opportunities for learning disabled and autistic adults to develop practical skills, build confidence and take steps towards greater independence.
Coed y Ddraig in Mold, Flintshire, is a purpose-built centre operated by learning disability charity Hft, with 35 learning disabled adults at the heart of the new service.
People supported by the centre took centre stage at its official opening, cutting the ribbon on a facility designed to provide a very different approach to traditional day services and work opportunities.
From horticulture and woodworking to pottery, wellbeing activities and employment support, the hub aims to give people opportunities to discover new interests and develop skills that can have a practical impact on their lives.
Growing Skills – And Fresh Produce
Horticulture plays a major role at Coed y Ddraig.
Learning disabled adults attending the centre can gain hands-on experience growing organic fruit and vegetables using ‘no dig’ methods.
The site includes planted beds, a market garden, polytunnels and greenhouses, but the produce grown there isn’t simply part of a training exercise.
Fruit and vegetables harvested at the centre are used to prepare meals in its café, while produce is also supplied to Hft’s Caffi Dai outlets in Shotton and Conwy.
Members of the public can purchase fresh produce from the hub’s on-site shop.
There are plans to take the project further with the introduction of a vegetable box scheme. Surplus produce could also be transformed into chutneys, pickles and jams for sale.
As well as reducing waste, the initiative will allow people attending the centre to experience more stages of producing, preparing and selling goods to customers.
Helping People Move Towards Employment
For some of the adults attending Coed y Ddraig, the skills developed at the centre could provide a pathway into paid employment.
Hft’s Supported Employment Team works alongside people at the hub to help them build on their experience and confidence and explore potential job opportunities.
The centre also provides scope to develop practical and creative skills away from the gardens.
A dedicated woodworking area allows people to make products including planters, birdboxes and signs using recycled pallet wood, while a pottery space provides opportunities to learn another craft.
Wellbeing is also incorporated into the service, with holistic activities including meditation, breathwork and sound baths taught by Hft Service Manager Clair Johnson.
Clair said the ambition for the project stretches far beyond horticulture.
“Coed y Ddraig is not just about growing plants and vegetables, it’s about the people we support growing better lives,” she said.
“Our vision is to inspire and equip learning disabled adults to achieve their full potential.”
Sustainability Built Into New Mold Centre
Environmental considerations have also influenced the development of the site.
Solar panels generate energy for the facility, while rainwater is harvested and reused for growing plants and produce.
The development also includes 11 electric vehicle charging points.
With nine acres of woodland available, there are already plans to expand the range of activities and facilities available.
Future proposals include establishing a community forest and meditation area, developing a forest school, planting native trees and creating a specialist autism base.
Health And Social Care Services Under One Roof
Coed y Ddraig will also provide facilities for healthcare professionals.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has dedicated space at the centre to continue existing service delivery.
The facilities will allow Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy teams to provide therapeutic interventions, while potentially enabling other clinical teams to offer appropriate services in a community setting.
The development was completed by MPH Construction and received £5.6 million in public capital funding.
Flintshire County Council provided £2.7 million, with another £2.9 million coming through the Welsh Government’s Health and Social Care Integration and Rebalancing Capital Fund.
Mel Shad, Hft Chief Operating Officer, said: “Places like Coed y Ddraig matter because they empower and enable the people we support to live a good life.
“A job. A new skill. New friends.
“The confidence to try something you’ve never done before. Greater independence and more choice about what you want your life to look like.
“Those things can feel very ordinary – and they should be. But too many learning disabled people still don’t have the same opportunities as everyone else to experience them.
“Coed y Ddraig shows what can happen when organisations work together around the ambitions of learning disabled people themselves. We’re immensely proud of what has been created here, but I’m even more excited about what the people we support will go on to achieve because of it.”
‘Designed Around The Needs Of The People Who Use It’
Councillor Christine Jones, Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Social Services and Wellbeing, said the new centre had been created around the people it will support.
She said: “Coed y Draig has been designed around the needs of the people who use it, providing a welcoming, modern environment where people can access high-quality support in their own community, in a setting that promotes independence and wellbeing.
“It was wonderful to see the building fully operational and to hear first-hand about the difference it is already making to people’s lives”
Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women’s Health Delyth Jewell said the development demonstrated what could be achieved through collaboration between councils, health services and other organisations.
She said: “Coed Y Ddraig is an example of what can be achieved when local authorities, health boards and partners work together to build services around the people who use them.
“This facility reflects this government’s commitment to strengthening local services and its aim of ensuring people can access high-quality care and support in their communities.
“Investments like this help build the capacity we need, so that residents living within these communities receive the right care, in the right place, closer to home. I look forward to seeing the lasting benefits Coed Y Ddraig brings to local people for years to come.”
With horticulture, employment support, creative activities, healthcare facilities and ambitious plans for its surrounding woodland, Coed y Ddraig has been designed to become much more than a conventional day centre.
Its focus is ultimately on giving learning disabled and autistic adults more opportunities to learn, participate in their community and decide what greater independence looks like for them.