Community Council welcomes plans for ‘dementia-friendly’ design at new bowls club

Community Council welcomes plans for ‘dementia-friendly’ design at new bowls club 

 

Kennington Community Council has adopted an objective of establishing Kennington as a dementia friendly community. Work on developing a policy is at an early stage but the Council has begun reaching out to local developers to ask them to design in dementia friendly aspects to new buildings. This is considered more effective than later retro-fitting dementia friendly features. 

 

Quinn Estates, which will provide a new club house and green for Ashford Town Bowls Club as part of the planning agreement for Conningbrook Park, now renamed Crown Hill View, responded positively to the Council’s approach. Clague Architects who have the contract to design the clubhouse, explained that it has been designed to ensure that corridors are kept to a minimum, that there is clear and easy-to-understand signage throughout the club, including directional signs and labels for different areas and facilities, and large, legible fonts and high-contrast colours will be used to aid navigation. The building has been designed with colour contrast in mind, not only to help the visually impaired but also those with dementia. 

 

As the new clubhouse is part of Quinn’s section 106 commitment to provide benefits to the community from the overall development, Ashford Bowls Club will be making it available to residents to hire, not restricted to Club members.