That purpose came to life with the Lordshill Youth Project in Southampton, where we worked alongside our customer, supply chain partners and local volunteers to breathe new life into a well-used community hub.
Since its founding in 1999, the Lordshill Youth Project has been a cornerstone of the community for the 4,000 residents of the Lordshill estate. Created as a partnership between the local church, police, and Sainsbury’s, it provides a safe space, guidance, and support to help young people build confidence, resilience and the life skills they need to thrive.
Impressed by the Lordshill Youth Project’s community impact, we pledged to provide a much-needed makeover in support of our Now or Never commitment to tackle social inequalities and create opportunities by improving the fabric of the communities where we work.
Working in collaboration with the project’s trustees and local tradespeople, we led a four-week volunteer-led refurbishment of the Zoe Braithwaite Centre — coordinated by our dedicated social value, supply chain and project management teams. Together, we delivered a full-scale makeover, driven by committed volunteers who donated over 1,000 hours to project management services, skilled trades, and expert guidance—turning a tired building into a vibrant, welcoming space.
With the support of 17 of our supply chain partners, materials and labour worth close to £50,000 were donated at no cost - delivering a full transformation of the space and enabling the Lordshill Youth Project to direct resources to its main activities.
Thanks to the generosity of our supply chain partners, the transformation included:
- Upgraded electrics, replacement of two toilets and accessible toilet with new sanitaryware.
- A fitted kitchen that brought the centre up to modern standards donated by our supply chain partners.
- Structural repairs, roofline improvements, and guttering works.
- Complete internal redecoration to brighten the environment.
- Gift-in-kind contributions from partners including AkzoNobel (paint and wall/floor designs), Tarkett (flooring), Whitecroft (sustainable lighting), Ideal Standard (accessible sanitaryware), and Howdens (kitchen).
- Six laptop computers donated to the Lordshill Youth Project.
By absorbing the full cost of the upgrade, we enabled the project to redirect its limited resources toward delivering services that directly benefit local young people.
The regeneration of the Zoe Braithwaite Centre exemplifies how social value work can inspire and uplift communities living around our projects. Feedback from users has been overwhelmingly positive with young people saying, “it’s so much prettier now”, “the kitchen is really cool” and “it feels so much bigger now!”
Darryl Saxton, Trustee of Lordshill Youth Project, reflecting on the impact of the project after five months, said:
“The effect of the refurbishment on the young people and staff was tangible.”
“It has changed their attitudes to their environment. They can now see that having something nice, worth looking after, something to be proud of is achievable. They have become fiercely protective of the youth club.
“Numbers of young people attending have increased. There has been no vandalism or mistreatment of the building, fittings or equipment. Of course, a building such as a youth club has a hard life but there is respect here. It has enabled conversations with young people to talk about how effort and commitment can improve their lives.”
Ian Stickland, Chair of Lordshill Youth Project, said:
“The impact the building renovation at The Zoe Braithwaite Centre has had on the young people, parents and youth team is humbling to observe.
“There has been an overwhelming ‘wow’ from everyone who enters the centre. It's bright, clean and the vibrancy has enhanced the quality of interaction with young people.
“Without the support of Willmott Dixon this increased engagement could never have happened - so thank you.”
