Holly Lodge
Holly Lodge was built in 2013 and provides a stepping stone into the community for people with very complex challenging behaviours.
Holly Lodge is a unique housing development with innovation at its heart. Designed specificially for people with autism and learning disabilities who present with behaviours that may be challenging, this state-of-the-art development combines bespoke design, assistive technoloogy and environmentally friendly features.
Since we built Holly Lodge in Kent 2013, we've collected evidence that it's an approach that works. We've helped people to move out of hospital, saved money for the local authority and made a huge improvement to the quality of life of people living there. Everyone has their own front door and for some people it’s the first time in their lives that they don’t have to share with anyone else.
We built an environment that helps staff and individuals we support to be safer. The building design helps this happen in many ways. To give one example, if staff are struggling to cope with supporting one individual and need a break, they can easily swap and change to supporting someone else. This reduces staff burn out and stress.
It’s a robust, homely building using design and technology to help manage behaviours that challenge.
Holly Lodge was conceived and designed from the ground upwards by listening to the experts, who are the people we support, their families and support workers. David Holt, Director of Housing and Development
The scheme includes features such as curved (and removable) internal walls, soft impact finishes to floors and walls, solar panels and a sedum 'green roof'.
The design also introduces various external access cupboards for future plumbing, heating or electrical maintenance, limiting the need for people to enter into each home, which could upset or disturb residents.
The model we’ve developed ticks so many boxes. We want to build more of these schemes because they are so desperately needed. This is our focus over the next few years. We've just opened our second Holly Lodge called Mayman Lane in Batley, Yorkshire. Find out more about this development here.
The goal for Holly Lodge is to increase the independence of people living there through the design and technology that will give them control over their environment and the opportunity to safely spend time on their own, if they wish.
Housing and living
We provide support to people living in their own homes. Where you live may be described as a service in registered care, supported living or outreach. To us, what is most important is that it’s your home.
Read morePositive Behavioural Support
Sometimes people we support display behaviours that may be challenging for the people around them.
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Housing developments
We are currently focusing our building development to meet the NHS Transforming Care programme.
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