The Hill Group, holder of the prestigious title WhatHouse? Housebuilder of the Year 2023 and lead sponsor of the London New Home Show next January, has teamed up with BBC One’s DIY SOS: The Big Build to transform a dilapidated caretaker’s cottage into a state-of-the-art new community hub for Essex-based mental health charity, Butterfly Effect Wellbeing.
Hill rallied its local supply chain and joined forces with presenter Nick Knowles, the DIY SOS team, and stars from Eastenders to deliver a game-changing community project. Airing on Monday 18 December, as a Christmas special, the programme was filmed on location at the site of a former school in Latton Bush, Harlow.
Responding to an appeal for support by the programme’s producers, Hill brought together volunteer staff, suppliers, and tradespeople to help deliver the project and donated one of the company’s award-winning SoloHaus homes, which was specially adapted for the charity and now serves as a brand-new therapy room for classes and support groups. As a result of everyone’s hard work and contributions, the charity now has the capacity to support up to 200 people suffering from mental health issues every week, a significant increase from the 10 people the charity was able to support prior to the project.
Angela Hannibal founded Butterfly Effect Wellbeing in memory of her mother, who sadly lost her life to suicide in 2020 after suffering from mental health issues for many years. Originally operating from cafes and church halls, Harlow Council offered the charity a 10-year lease of the caretaker’s cottage and subsequently approved planning permission for its renovation. Angela then responded to an appeal by the DIY SOS production team and was delighted when the programme confirmed its plans to take on the project as its Christmas special.
After a public announcement by DIY SOS calling for local tradespeople to volunteer services in support of the project, Tom Hill, managing director at The Hill Group, responded quickly. Headquartered in nearby Waltham Abbey and already working in partnership with Harlow Council, Hill assembled various tradespeople, suppliers, and subcontractors to volunteer for the project. Along with demolition experts, Demcom, The Hill Group, led the site clearance and strip-out of the cottage. Various companies, including GSQ Brickwork, Bowie Construction, ALN, Contour Roofing, Extreme Scaffold, Bambridge Lee Ltd, AJ Mechanical Services, Playle Engineering Ltd, Sees Flooring, Roofline and Cladding Solutions Ltd, Star FM, and The TP Group, assisted with further works incorporating everything from scaffolding, brickwork, landscaping, patio laying, carpentry, decorating, and flooring.
As a permanent and lasting contribution to the project, Hill donated a SoloHaus home, which was craned onto the site during the main build phase. SoloHaus homes are purpose-built, modular, single-person dwellings created for Hill’s Foundation 200 initiative, a £15million pledge to design, manufacture, and donate 200 quality homes to homeless charities and local authorities by 2025. The SoloHaus was specially adapted for the charity before being carefully installed on site to create a spacious and welcoming new holistic garden room with large, bifold glass doors where health and wellbeing classes, including meditation, yoga, and holistic healing, will be held. This new, additional space beyond the main building allows the charity to run paid-for sessions to generate revenue that can be invested back into the charity to support its core services.
Tom Hill, managing director at The Hill Group, commented: "This was a remarkable project, and I’d like to thank DIY SOS: The Big Build for bringing the show to Harlow this Christmas. Special recognition must go to Angela for her unwavering dedication to the community, and this crucial project will substantially enhance the support she can provide to local people when they need it most.
“I want to extend my thanks to all the tradespeople and suppliers whose generosity and dedication made this transformative project possible. This Big Build reflects Hill’s own commitment to leaving a lasting impact on the communities we serve. It's not only about the construction; it’s about addressing mental health challenges, both within our industry and across society. The creation of safe spaces is so crucial, and the result of our work here will help Angela and her team provide much-needed additional support services in the area."
At the end of the programme, Nick Knowles presented Angela with the ‘Big Reveal', and the charity’s founder was brought to tears seeing the results of everyone’s hard work, volunteering, and donations. The site now boasts a bright, open-plan main building equipped with a modern kitchen and meeting and activity rooms that are used for support groups and workshops. The buildings are surrounded by beautifully landscaped outdoor space, including an allotment where Hill’s charity partner, the Phoenix Trust, created a bee and bug hotel using recycled materials to help boost biodiversity.
Angela Hannibal, founder of Butterfly Effect Wellbeing, commented: “Being part of DIY SOS and getting this amazing new facility is a dream come true. I was speechless when the big reveal took place. I’m so pleased to have done all this in memory of my mum, which allows us to help more people who, like her, find themselves facing tough times. Having a fully operational kitchen has been game-changing; we can now provide free daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner clubs. It is fantastic to be up and running in time for Christmas, allowing us to provide extra support to those in need at what is a difficult time for many people. Working in partnership with Streets2Homes, which supports homeless people, we are fully booked for Christmas lunch, and we are looking forward to welcoming more people than ever in the year ahead.”
Run solely by a dedicated group of volunteers, including a psychologist, the centre is now open daily, facilitating regular group and drop-in sessions. The organisation, which works closely with the local NHS outpatient mental health team, is extending its services to provide a free clothes hub and food bank to support the local community. In 2024, Butterfly Effect Wellbeing is planning to harness the wellbeing benefits of nature by utilising its new allotment space to start a community gardening club. The charity also plans to hold a series of community events, including a Family Day in July and three holistic fairs, to raise funds to support its vital services.
Find out more from The Hill Group.
Find out more about Butterfly Effect Wellbeing.