A Shropshire youth charity has created a sensory garden at its new headquarters in Shrewsbury - with the help of a donation from a leading provider of affordable homes. 

SYA - All About Youth and Homes Plus, part of the Housing Plus Group, collaborated on the planning and installation of the project which has seen a “mud patch” transformed into an impressive tranquil space for young people with sensory needs.

As part of the project, research was carried out by SYA’s youth forum through a survey of club members about their neighbourhoods - what they liked about where they live and what could be improved.

They then delivered a presentation to representatives from Homes Plus over an afternoon tea invitation at the SYA HQ in Shrewsbury, with the young people doing the baking themselves, before the sensory garden was formally opened.

Kerry Williams, area youth manager at SYA, said: “We are extremely grateful to Homes Plus for their support in helping to bring this project to life.

“It means the young people attending youth club sessions at our HQ in Shrewsbury can now enjoy this sensory garden thanks to the generous donation of £2,467 from Homes Plus - and it is already having a tremendous impact.

“The garden basically started off as a mud patch, however Stephen's great vision at Homes Plus helped turn it into an amazing, lovely, tranquil space for young people with sensory needs.

“Homes Plus donated wicker fencing and bench sleepers, and some of their apprentices kindly came along to put these up for us.

“The impact this garden has had on our young people has been fantastic. It has created a space they can feel proud of, and the two SEND groups that run from our HQ have been involved in planting the herbs and designing the artwork on a brick cupboard encouraging ownership of their group.

“The space has also ensured that there is a quiet space for young people to have some time out from busier areas within their session - and for all this we are truly grateful to Homes Plus for helping us achieve this.”

Kerry added: “We initially met with Homes Plus as they wanted to hear the voice of what young people thought of their areas, which seemed like a great project for our countywide youth forum to be involved in.

“Homes Plus sent some questions and the youth forum looked at how best to proceed. Members decided they wanted quality and quantitative information and they would achieve this by consulting with their youth group.

“It was then decided that the forum should present their findings to Homes Plus which was a great experience for them.”

The project has helped SYA youth forum members gain new skills in a variety of areas, including organisation, teamwork, public speaking, time management, collating and presenting information, event planning and most of all confidence building.

SYA seeks to ensure that young people in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin have access to quality, affordable and appropriate youth provision to improve their lives.

The charity achieves this through its own delivery of youth work and by supporting more than 120 voluntary youth clubs, with 500-plus volunteers.

Homes Plus is a leading provider of affordable homes in Staffordshire and Shropshire and a member of Housing Plus Group, owning 19,000 homes and employing more than 900 local people.