Bishop’s Stortford’s Grove Cottage ready to rise like a phoenix as building is demolished

Contractors have begun demolishing Grove Cottage’s London Road headquarters, ready for a £2.5m replacement.

The new centre will, according to Bishop’s Stortford mayor Cllr Richard Townsend, rise like a phoenix from the dust and debris.

He joined Hertford and Stortford MP Josh Dean, High Sheriff of Hertfordshire Annie Brewster, Grove Cottage trustees Richard Smith and Duncan Murdoch, and representatives of the builder, TJ Evers Ltd, to review progress.

Site manager David Frost told the Indie that work began last week, and in two weeks the building, which has been a beacon for children and adults with learning disabilities for more than 50 years, will have disappeared.

He estimated the new, two-storey building, which will double Grove Cottage’s usable space, will be complete by next September.

To ensure that deadline is reached, Grove Cottage has launched a £250,000 “Buy a Brick” appeal, asking supporters to pay £10 for a building block.

TJ Evers also worked on Bishop’s Stortford Methodist Church’s extension in South Street and Leventhorpe School’s music block.

Construction director Steve Ewers, whose brother is disabled, said his team had already taken the project to their heart and that it would be built “with love”.

He added: “But it’s what’s inside the building that’s most important.”

Trustee Duncan Murdoch joined the charity around 12 years ago and was tasked with finding a new location site where Grove Cottage could expand, but to no avail.

He said: “I spent five to six years searching for sites… and finally we realised that the only thing we can do is redevelop what we’ve got.”

While the site is constrained and lacks parking, fellow trustee Richard Smith said it felt right to remain where so many special memories had been created.

“I cannot exaggerate what that building means to members and their families,” he said. “It’s about inclusion, education, friendship and respite.”

He said Grove Cottage was unique in the country in providing lifetime support to members aged from 18 months to 80-plus.

All of its activities are continuing during the construction – for example, the nursery has temporarily relocated to St Elizabeth’s Centre at Perry Green – and everyone is looking forward to reuniting in a purpose-built premises in 10 months.

Grove Cottage was founded in 1966 when a forward-looking group of parents set out to bridge the gap in services for children with additional needs.

The centre now being dismantled began as a Victorian home and was a café before a public appeal enabled the families to buy the building in 1971 and convert it into a social and recreational centre.

During those renovations, the Grove Cottage name stone was revealed and the carved block has been carefully removed and will be replaced once the project is complete.

The demolition ceremony provided a first chance for both the MP and the High Sheriff to visit Grove Cottage and learn more about its services, which cost almost £500,000 a year to run.

Josh Dean paid tribute to the charity’s lifelong support for members and said: “I have got a good idea of how much it matters to the community and I hope to be able to visit many more times in the future when the building is complete.

“It’s a real gem in our community and something to be very, very proud of.”

Annie Brewster said the continuity Grove Cottage provided for members was “priceless”.

“I love the ambition and I wish them every success in the future in their beautiful new building,” she said.