The former Ockbrook School, which has been vacant since it ran into financial issues in 2021, was given a new lease of life from children’s charity, Over The Wall, which agreed to take the promises on a 40-year lease.
The project has been selected by a panel of local industry professionals to be a winner of the CoStar Impact Awards Lease of the Year for the East Midlands.
Until now, Over The Wall, which serves 1,000 beneficiaries a year and covers more than 130 different illnesses and conditions, had taken on only short-term leases, but in 2019, its management recognised the charity needed to find a permanent site.
After an extensive search, the former private school near Derby, rose to the top of the wish list as its development allows the charity to increase the number of beneficiaries its serves annually, enrich its camp experience, create partnerships with regional children’s hospitals, support children with more complex and diverse health challenges, trial new programme, and support other charities to deliver residential programmes.
Plans were submitted to reinstate the site’s The Mount building, which was severely water-damaged in 2022. The charity also hopes to turn the West Meadow field into an adventure park with high ropes and a climbing wall, as well as an amphitheatre and outdoor area adjacent to the main hall’s reception that will be more welcoming and decorative with planting and seating.
About the project:
From start to finish, Over The Wall took two years to secure the location, and it will take another two to ensure the site is fully functioning. The aim is to become “camp ready” in 2026.
Founded 25 years ago, Over The Wall has a target to provide camps at the new facility to improve the lives of more than 100,000 children. It will relocate its headquarters from Havant to Ockbrook, requiring between 30 to 40 staff initially and with the hope to boost that number to between 70 to 80, all recruited locally. By 2030, the ambition is to run year-round camps with accommodation for between 50 and 60 children aided by as many clinical staff.
What the judges said:
Tom Boardman-Weston, managing director, Manston Investments, said: “From experience, I know that re-purposing older buildings to appropriate market condition can be tricky, the impact of large voids on an established community can be great, and I feel that the impact of such a repurposing is likely to have the largest positive impact on its community – both directly and indirectly.” Katie Parsons, director, RCA Regeneration, added: “This is an innovative use of a former school, which are generally extremely challenging to lease. It will allow Over The Wall to realise its growth ambitions after a long site search and provide its life-enriching services to many more beneficiaries for years to come.”
They made it happen:
Nick Hughes, director, Hilco Real Estate Advisory, and Kevin Mathieson, chief executive, Over The Wall.