We’ve applied for planning permission to build a straw bale roundhouse in the hospice garden at Saron, beside the roundhouse that’s already there, and we’re excited to share the plans with you. If it goes ahead, it would be a base for our growing team and a space the whole community can share.
Why we need it
Everything we offer is free: day hospice every Wednesday, a week of respite care each month, and our Remote Companion Service by phone and video.
Our vision is to grow these services, gradually and carefully, until we can offer respite and end-of-life care around the clock.
That’s a big step, and it means a bigger team. The roundhouse would give that team a base of their own in the garden, with offices, a kitchenette, an accessible toilet and a large open room for training days and community events. It’s a key part of how we get there.
The building
The plans are for a natural build with minimal concrete. The walls would be straw bales, finished with clay plaster inside, and lime render and wooden cladding outside.
The roof is constructed with roundwood timbers that rest on one another in a spiral, a design known as a reciprocal frame. Because the timbers support each other, there’s no need for a central post, so the main room is wide open. Living turf covers the roof, and a rooflight at its centre brings daylight into the middle of the room.
The design includes a wood-burner, and the low window boards double as seats looking out over the garden. Part of the floor is raised on a timber frame, so as not to disturb the roots of a nearby ash tree.
A space for the community
The roundhouse is for the wider community as much as for the hospice, and local groups would be able to use it and hire it.
55 of 57
people who answered our questionnaire would like to see the roundhouse built
44
people are interested in learning building skills on the project
When we asked local people what they thought in September and October, the response was wonderful. Of the 57 people who replied, 55 said they’d like to see the roundhouse built, and many had ideas of their own for using it, from yoga and tai chi to choirs, coffee mornings, craft groups, Welsh learners’ groups and simply a quiet place to sit. One person put it beautifully:
“Creating something together that will benefit people for many years.”
Building it together
If the project goes ahead, we’d love local people to help build it. Skilled builders would lead the work, with people from the community joining them on the clay plastering, lime rendering and laying the turf roof, learning those skills as they go.
In our questionnaire, 44 people said they’d be interested in learning building skills on the project. The turf roof was the most popular choice, followed closely by straw bale building and clay plastering.
Where things stand
Our planning application is in, and we’re now applying for grant funding to pay for the build. If all goes well, we hope many of you will be helping us build it, and we’ll share news here as the project moves along.
If you’d like to hear about chances to get involved, please get in touch.
