Award-winning design team announced for Horatio’s Garden Yorkshire at Pinderfields Hospital | News

A new Horatio’s Garden is set to open at Pinderfields Hospital, with award-winning landscape designer Joe Perkins and architect Clementine Blakemore announced as the team behind the charity’s tenth transformative garden.

The new garden, known as Horatio’s Garden Yorkshire, will support patients rehabilitating at the Yorkshire Regional Spinal Injuries Centre at Pinderfields Hospital, as well as their families, friends and NHS staff.

The Yorkshire Regional Spinal Injuries Centre is one of only 11 specialist spinal injuries centres across England, and provides expert care for people with life-changing spinal cord injuries from across Yorkshire and beyond.

Joe Perkins and Clementine Blakemore recently visited the centre to meet patients with spinal injuries and the staff supporting them. During the visit, they listened to first-hand experiences of rehabilitation and gathered insights that will help shape a calm, accessible and welcoming garden tailored to the needs of those who will use it.

Joe is a multi-RHS-winning landscape designer with more than 25 years’ experience creating spaces inspired by the restorative impact of the outdoors. He said: “Working with Horatio’s Garden means we’re going to make a real difference to the recovery and rehabilitation of spinal injury patients.

“To be part of this is such a privilege and something I really value. Listening to staff and patients here has been incredibly valuable, and we’ll incorporate these insights into our design.”

Clementine is the founder of Clementine Blakemore Architects, an award-winning practice creating inventive and inclusive buildings designed to have a positive impact on communities and the environment. She said: “We’re designing the garden room and pods for the new garden, and it’s a dream brief for us.

“Our ambition is to create a sensitive environment that is an antidote to the clinical feeling of the hospital. We want to make a space where people feel comfortable and relaxed, where they want to linger, and where their families can come and spend proper time with them.”

Keith Ramsay, Chair of Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “We are delighted to be working with Horatio’s Garden to bring this special new space to Pinderfields Hospital.

“We know the positive difference that access to nature can make to people’s wellbeing, particularly during rehabilitation, and we look forward to seeing patients, families and staff benefit from everything Horatio’s Garden Yorkshire will offer.”