Park Palace Ponies

This is Park Palace Ponies. This is not about architecture of form and aesthetic, this is about questioning convention and using creativity to connect people together, to build engagement and community ownership. HSA were approached by the client, a philanthropist with an interest in equestrianism, to turn a pipe dream into reality. The project; to transform a former disused theatre, in one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Liverpool, into a starter riding school.

Originally, the project was supposed to be a new build grant funded facility, but collectively we felt the success of the project was dependent on the buy-in of the community, their support would be critical to issues of security. This is therefore a pilot project, which will run initially for 12 months to encourage young people to try a sport not ordinarily accessible in the urban environment.

We promoted the story of the project to different audiences – the British Equestrian Foundation (who went on to fund the pilot project) the neighbourhood, the council and various other stakeholders. The project brings back into use a disused cinema building and connects with growing projects which will be supplied with manure. We also negotiated the lease of 5 acres of grazing from the council to meet environment health requirements – bringing back into use vacant pieces of land and transforming the urban landscape. We held community events to enable local people to find out about the project and contribute suggestions and held a pop-up cinema event once the building was safe to use to let people in and become part of the project.

Since opening the pilot project, the first 6 months has seen 250 young riders taking part in the starter course, 40% of which are from the local postcode L8 with over 200 more having contact with the ponies through open days and events. This is a grass roots led project, which we helped to make happen, and shows how architects can be catalysts for change in extraordinary circumstances.