My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), evidence of access to a lease for the space you are leveraging, and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions.
Yes
First Name
Victoria
Last Name
Coleman
Pronouns
She/Her
Email address
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
0
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
No
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
No
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Lead Organisation Name
London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames Council
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
1963
Initiative Title
Development of an abandoned and derelict ambulance garage into an inclusive sports venue
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
https://www.richmond.gov.uk/council
Initiative Stage
Pilot-Stage (The first activities have happened, and you have proof of concept)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
This project will transform a long‑abandoned ambulance garage at Hampton Common into a safe, inclusive, community‑designed sports hub with toilets, storage, lighting, and improved pitches to support young people, especially girls, to access, enjoy and benefit from grassroots sport.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
Young people in Hampton face a significant lack of inclusive, safe, and well-equipped facilities to cope with the increase in demand. Currently there are no facilities, with only one portable toilet. This puts young people off, especially for girls pushing them into anti-social behaviour. This is a key moment to engage them in sport before it’s too late. They need an equipped inclusive space to accommodate grassroots sports with changing facilities, toilets and storage for sport equipment to support young people’s physical and mental wellbeing. We’ve worked closely with the local community who expressed frustration at the shortage of pitches and youth facilities and their desire for improved football facilities. Residents highlighted the long standing issue of Hampton & Richmond Borough Youth FC having no permanent home, and a shortage of pitches across the borough, limiting opportunities for both boys and girls. There are no toilets, no changing space, no storage and poor lighting. This restricts girls, younger children, and those with additional needs taking part. Many people stressed that girls’ football teams cannot participate competitively without specific toilets. Hampton Common is underequipped, limiting its potential as a youth friendly community hub. This project is shaped by extensive community engagement: 129 consultation responses from residents and youth organisations including H&R Borough Youth FC, Sport Richmond, Footie Fit and Twickenham Cricket Club, all strongly supported reimagining this space. Children and young people, especially girls from lower income households living near the Common will finally get the chance to engage and enjoy sport. Creating a safe, community owned space will address inequalities in access to sport and improve wellbeing
Your approach: How are you/ will you addressing the problem outlined above? How does your solution unlock or reimagine access to spaces for sport and physical activity? What role do landowners, local authorities, or other decision-making stakeholders play in your approach? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
Our project will transform Hampton Common and the former ambulance station into an accessible, community designed and youth centred space for sport. This directly responds to what local people told us they need: more pitches and safe, inclusive facilities such as toilets, storage, and lighting. Community feedback showed strong support to repurpose the long-abandoned ambulance station into a community designed space that enables youth sport and provides safe amenities for young people and families. Reimagining an existing public asset rather than building new infrastructure, will unlock access to sport by utilising and adapting a building that is unused but has the foundations to make sport accessible and inclusive. We’ll improve underutilised green space by creating fit for purpose 5v5 and 9v9 pitches, responding directly to the widely evidenced shortage of youth pitches and the growing demand for girls’ and grassroots football. We work very closely with the local community to listen, understand and tackle barriers and challenges they face with sustainable solutions. Richmond Council owns the land, has managed the consultation, and will ensure the vision aligns with long term community needs. In partnership with local clubs, they will shape the design to meet their needs. This process has transformed the idea into a focused, community led reimagination of space. The “aha” moment came from the consultation. The community overwhelmingly agreed that the lack of toilets, storage, and appropriate pitches was the main barrier stopping children and young people from playing. Reimagining this space to be rooted in the community will improve access to sport and improve physical and mental wellbeing as well as fostering social skills, teamwork and resilience in young people
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
This initiative is being delivered with the community. and aligns to the council's 'Playing pitch strategy and action Plan'. Young people and the wider community have been central to shaping this initiative from the very beginning. We received 129 consultation responses, with over 75% from local residents and additional input from young people, parents, and grassroots sports organisations. Their feedback identified the severe problems, that included a lack of facilities, shortage of pitches, and barriers to participation. This insight has informed our project. Children, young people, and families use Hampton Common frequently: over 60% of respondents visit weekly or more. This gives them lived experience of what is missing on the ground. They want toilets, safe storage, better designed pitches, and inclusive spaces to allow girls to feel safe and included. Local youth organisations submitted formal supportive responses and helped articulate the urgent need for more pitches, safer infrastructure, and facilities for girls and younger players. Together we will co design plans, manage community programming, and create pathways for young people to participate, volunteer, and take on leadership roles. Young people themselves have shaped the direction of the project through their coaches, families, and direct comments, emphasising the need for local provision so they can play close to home, feel safe, and belong to something positive. Young people and residents are active co creators, defining the need, shaping the innovative solution, and helping determine how the reimagined space will operate. Their involvement from the start instils community ownership to strengthen the project sustainable impact on young people’s lives. We have letters of support from partners too
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in unlocking spaces for and access to physical activity and sport so far? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had , and or what impact do you envision having in the future?
Our initiative will unlock meaningful, long-term access to sport and physical activity for young people by transforming a disused public space into a safe, inclusive and fully equipped community hub. We will remove the key practical barriers that prevent children from taking part in grassroots sport. Many respondents stated that the lack of toilets alone stops girls’ teams from competing locally. Working in partnership with local clubs, strengthens the sustainable impact of the project. The initiative has the potential to substantially increase physical activity as the space already attracts high footfall and the engagement of local sports clubs also ensures regular and long-term usage of the space. The reimagined former ambulance station will reduce vandalism and anti social behaviour, which residents identified as current challenges. Bringing the building into active, positive use, we introduce natural surveillance creating a safer environment. Having a local space to play sport and be social will encourage young people to be active rather than causing vandalism or being dragged into anti-social behaviour in their spare time. The project has the potential to generate measurable increases in activity levels, confidence, social connection and improved wellbeing for young people. This space will be made available for wider community use, including supporting local volunteers. Our key outputs are a refurbished former ambulance station; new and improved pitches; essential toilets and changing rooms; and improved activities and programmes for clubs. Our outcomes are; increase in young people taking part in sport; improved physical and mental wellbeing; reduced anti-social behaviour; safer environment; stronger community cohesion; a home for local sport; and improved access
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
Our initiative reimagines existing, underused public assets rather than building new facilities. This allows us to unlock inclusive, youth friendly spaces for sport without the long timeframe and capital infrastructure challenges a new building creates and keeps the culture and heritage of the local area. Instead of treating the former ambulance station and Hampton Common as fixed and unusable, we are transforming it into a flexible, multipurpose community infrastructure that provides friendly spaces for sport. The approach is original because it adapts current derelict infrastructure and uses community led design as the driver for reactivating space. The idea didn’t start as a pitch development project. It came through deep consultation with hundreds of local residents and has been co-designed into a transformative project to improve young people’s access to sport. By innovatively turning a derelict building associated with graffiti, dumping, and low activation, into a hub that provides essential facilities, enhances safety through natural surveillance, and anchors youth sport programming, we can reimagine space to impact young people’s wellbeing. This approach directly responds to community insights that repurposing the old ambulance station would reduce vandalism, improve oversight, and make the area feel more welcoming. This models sustainably practices by thorough community driven reactivation of public space and the project’s success can be scalable.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your initiative up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
We’re setting this initiative up for long term success by creating it with the community to address their specific demands and utilise existing local infrastructure, and strong partnerships between youth clubs and the local authority. The consultation demonstrates high engagement and clear backing for improved facilities. This local ownership strengthens the viability and sustainability of the project. Continued and long-term usage will be built into the design and maintenance. Repurposing the former ambulance station with the local community and local sports clubs, creates a viable base for long term programming and reduces vandalism by bringing the building into regular use. The combination of toilets, storage and structured pitches enables clubs to run quality and consistent programmes, competitions and coaching sessions. This increases footfall and ensure it remains active and well-maintained. Feedback suggests that increased community oversight will reduce antisocial behaviour and make the area safer for young people, while engaging many who have been unable to join a club. Financial and operational sustainability will be supported through partnerships with local clubs who have expressed willingness to use and help manage the facilities, as well as through ongoing collaboration with the local authorities Parks and Sports Development Teams as landowner and strategic lead. For scalability, this project acts as a replicable model for reimagining underused community assets. There are thousands of abandoned buildings across the UK that are currently not being utilised and are in key locations. Our approach can be shared and applied to other parks and buildings across the borough and UK where similar shortages in safe and inclusive sporting facilities and space exist.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
Our initiative is built on shared leadership and responsibility between the Parks/Sports Development Teams, community/sports organisations, and the young people who use Hampton Common. Each partner plays a defined and essential role to ensure the project is deliverable, accountable and community owned. Richmond Council is the landowner and strategic lead. The Council has overseen the formal consultation process and will deliver the project. We will coordinate the planning, manage the redevelopment of the former ambulance station, and ensure the space meets safety, planning, accessibility and environmental standards. Clear governance, long-term oversight, and alignment with boroughwide priorities for young people and physical activity has been considered in development. Local grassroots sports clubs play a central operational role and have been involved in the consultation, strongly supporting the proposals for new pitches and facilities. These clubs bring lived experience, coaching expertise, and direct insight from the young people they work with. They will help shape usage, manage equipment stored on site, and lead much of the day-to-day activity on the new pitches. Their involvement ensures the facilities will permanently be used after its development for sustainable impact to young people. Young people and families have been involved in the codesigning of the facilities. Their feedback has shaped the vision and priorities of the project. Residents and community groups contribute ongoing insight on safety, accessibility and shared use expectations, ensuring the space remains inclusive for all park users. Together, these shared responsibilities ensure the project is grounded in community knowledge, supported by delivery partners, and sustained by strong local stewardship.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/to grow.
Our milestones follow a clear pathway from co design to delivery, with each stage directly linked to desired outcomes for young people and the wider community. The costed works for the ambulance station refurbishment (£62,383.13) underpin the feasibility of this programme. 1. Final Co-Design & Client Approval Working with young people, residents and local clubs, we will finalise the facility layout. Outcome: A shared, community owned design that directly responds to the needs identified in the consultation, including safe amenities for girls and younger children. Design & Client Approval owned design that directly responds to the needs identified in the consultation, including safe amenities for girls and younger children. 2. Planning & Technical Design Progressing through preplanning, design development and spatial coordination ensures compliant, accessible and youth friendly infrastructure. Outcome: A fully costed and approved plan enabling construction of accessible toilets, internal rooms, drainage and electrics, addressing the most significant barriers identified by families and clubs. Planning, design development and spatial coordination ensures compliant, accessible and youth friendly infrastructure. 3. Procurement & Contractor Appointment Following planning approval, we will advance to building control, technical design and tendering before appointing a contractor. 4. Construction & Fit Out Delivery of the full refurbishment: new internal walls, kitchen, WC, storage racking, flooring, new doors, lighting, power, ventilation and drainage connections. Outcome: A functional, inclusive indoor facility that enables youth programming, supports girls’ participation, and creates a safer environment with improved supervision. 5. Activation & Community Programming Working with Hampton & Richmond Borough Youth FC, Sport Richmond, Footie Fit and others, we will co design pitch usage, training sessions and community access. Outcome: Increased participation in sport for young people who currently face access barriers, and consistent grassroots activity on the new 5v5 and 9v9 pitches. This will improve physical and mental wellbeing for young people. 6. Ongoing Monitoring Early monitoring of participation, wellbeing and community impact. Outcome: A sustainable, replicable model for transforming underused green spaces into vibrant, youth centred activity hubs, ready for future scaling
