Changing Places & Sensory Case Study: Sudbury Hall

For Everyone, For Ever

The Children’s Country House at Sudbury offers a fun educational experience for children and their families. Offering brilliant gardens, a museum highlighting the history of childhood, and the Hall, this attraction is a much-loved location in the Derbyshire countryside.

Driven by the National Trust’s strategy “for everyone, for ever,” the Children’s Country House team have been working diligently to enhance accessibility at their property for years. Central to their recent plans has been the adaptation of an existing space into a new Changing Places facility and sensory room. However, permission had to first be sought from the local authority to allow building works to commence within such a historic property.

An Inclusive Hub

Our first task was to obtain listed building consent. So, we submitted and managed a planning application, which included details of how proposed works would minimize any impact on the existing building fabric. Permission was quickly granted in October 2021.

The project was funded in part by Derbyshire Council, as part of the government’s broader £30m Changing Places initiative, and our team set to work in June 2022 — completing all works within a six-week period.

The Sudbury team had a goal to create an inclusive hub at the heart of their property by installing a Changing Places toilet and adjacent sensory room. RISE delivered both, covering every aspect of the installation, from the initial framing out of the rooms to the plumbing, electrics, and installation of all specialist equipment.

The new Changing Places features premium materials throughout and includes a height-adjustable changing bench, basin, and ceiling track hoist system, as well as graphic feature wall and all other fixtures required to fully register the facility. The smaller sensory room features a host of specialist lighting and audio equipment to calm and engage neurodiverse visitors.