Springfield Village was declared officially open at a street party hosted by South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust on Wednesday 5 July. Hundreds of staff, patients, service users and members of the local community came together to celebrate at the annual street party event, which was made even more special this year by coinciding with the launch of Springfield Village and the NHS’s 75th birthday.
Wandsworth Mayor, Juliana Annan, and Trust Chief Executive, Vanessa Ford, cut the ribbon to Springfield Village, a new mixed-use community in Tooting made up of state-of-the-art mental health facilities, over 800 new homes, shops, a public square and a 32-acre park – the biggest developed in London since the 2012 Olympics. The village has been designed in collaboration with the Trust’s staff, patients and local people over a number of years to break down barriers, reduce the stigma around mental illness and open up the Springfield site for the benefit of the community.
At the centre of the village is Chapel Square and Springfield Hospital’s two brand new mental health facilities, the Trinity and Shaftesbury buildings which together represent a £150m investment. The cutting-edge buildings are home to a range of outpatient services and eight inpatient mental health wards featuring spacious ensuite bedrooms, world-class artworks and garden courtyards, providing outstanding environments for patients to receive care and recover.
While the Springfield Village development will take until approximately 2026 to fully complete, the Trust’s summer street party on 5 July marked the village officially opening to the public. The biggest part of the park, which includes ponds, playgrounds and areas for informal sport, is now open for local people to enjoy this summer, and residents have started moving into the hundreds of new homes already complete. Shops, cafés, a restaurant and gym will follow over the next two years.
Vanessa Ford, the Trust’s Chief Executive, said: “Today’s street party was a small way for us to say a big thank you to all of our patients, partners, staff and communities who have helped us to bring the new stigma-breaking Springfield Village to life. The redevelopment reflects our commitment to transforming the communities we serve and creating inclusive, high quality mental health services for all. Cutting the ribbon was an incredible milestone, and symbolic of just how far we have come as a society in changing attitudes and breaking the stigma around mental illness. Thank you to all of you who came and made the street party so special and inclusive – a real celebration of the NHS and who we are as a Trust.”
Ian Garlington, the director leading the Trust’s estates transformation programme, said: “For too long, large parts of the NHS mental health estate have been isolated from the communities they serve, reflecting outdated attitudes to mental illness from years gone by. We are extremely proud of everything we have achieved with our partners in creating Springfield Village and integrating mental health facilities into the communities we serve. This is just the start of our journey and part of a £250 million investment to develop new mental health facilities across Wandsworth, Richmond and Kingston.”
Councillor Juliana Annan, the Mayor of Wandsworth, said: “Opening Springfield Village is a huge moment for the local community and a testament to the hard work and progress made by the Trust and its partners over a number of years to make the site a fantastic community space for all. It was an honour to take part in the celebrations, which gave a brilliant insight into what is to come as the Trust continues with its ambitious programme of works to transform its estates and mental health services across south west London.”
Harriet Gladwell-Phillips, the project lead for master developer STEP, said: “STEP and housebuilding partners Barratt London, City & Country and London Square are delighted to sponsor the Trust’s Street Party marking the opening of Springfield Village. The progress of this pioneering project is a testament to real partnership working amongst all the parties involved, with every organisation showing total belief in the vision of a cohesive health and residential community and an unswerving determination to deliver. As staff and service users settle into their new facilities; residents move into their new homes and Springfield Park opens to the whole community, we can all feel extremely proud to celebrate the growing Springfield Village and its positive impact on the lives of the people who live, work and are treated here.”
