Changing Places Case Study: Botanic Garden of Wales

Sowing The Seeds of Change

The National Botanic Garden of Wales, situated in the River Tywi valley, Wales, is of huge importance to Welsh heritage, nationally and within a local community. The first national botanic garden to be opened in the new millennium, the site holds over 8,000 different types of plants, spread across 560 acres of beautiful countryside.

Providing easy access to as much of this important green space as possible to people with disabilities has always been a priority — accessibility was recently boosted with the addition of a brand-new Changing Places toilet.

The Project: Changing Places Toilet Adaption

Facilities and Operations Manager, Dennis Cattell contacted RISE Adaptations when the time was right for a Changing Places project to start at the garden. This had been discussed for many years by the team at the park and became a personal mission for Dennis to get completed before his departure for another role.

Rather than opting for a modular Changing Places toilet, an ideal position was located for the facility — an old existing male toilet block that needed further attention anyway. RISE took on the project, quickly preparing a full design and scope of works to maximise the Botanic Garden budget by converting the existing block into a Changing Places toilet.

RISE delivered a fully managed package that included fitting a suspended ceiling system, a complete renovation of internal and exterior walls, and then moving on to all first and second fix electrical and plumbing. The project included sourcing and installing all the equipment required to enable the Garden to immediately register as an official Changing Places toilet.

The project progressed without any issues; however, a slight challenge was presented by the existing doorway to the old toilet block which was too narrow for wheelchair access. We created a new, wider opening and installed a DDA steel door to keep the toilet secure. Another large job was the chopping out of the existing reinforced concrete slab to accept a new floor gully.

To ensure the facility was safe and ready for use, we tested all equipment, including ceiling track hoist and changing bench.

Marketing Officer, Jac Towler was pleased with the results:

“Rise were fantastic from start to finish. They managed everything, from scoping the project to helping register us as an official Changing Places and kept us informed at every step. I would highly recommend them.”