FHP donates to Footprints’ new Clifton centre

FHP, which has offices in Nottingham, Derby and Birmingham, chose to support Footprints with the major renovation project at its new HQ at the former Highbank Community centre in Clifton.

Following the completion of phase one works, which created vital facilities including dedicated session rooms for conductive education, a speech and communication room, an accessible children’s toilet training room, and a family room, Footprints’ new accessible hub for children who live with mobility and communication difficulties opened to families in June 2025.

The donation from FHP will enable the charity to start work on its new sensory room, which has been designed to accommodate the needs of children and adults of all abilities, and will be available for Footprints’ families and the community.

The funds will also allow works to begin to install a community coffee bar within the centre.

The coffee bar will provide a welcoming place for Footprints families, giving them a chance to connect, share experiences and support one another in a relaxed and inclusive environment. It will also be open to the public.

FHP is continuing to support Footprints post donation, making introductions to local firms who may be able to help with resurfacing the centre car park and installing solar panels.

There is still much to do to fulfil Footprints’ needs and ambitions to provide its life-changing services to as many families as possible, and to provide a social and vibrant hub for the local community.

The charity is looking for partner to support with the refurbishment of what will be a community hall, outdoor sensory areas from each of the three session rooms, solar panels to assist with efficiency of the building and help with running costs, an outdoor seating area as an extension to the coffee bar, refurbishment to damaged windows, blinds, and a porch to the entrance of the centre to protect families from the weather.

Stephen Frew, Business and Charity Manager at Footprints, said:

“We are very excited to start the next phase in the transformation of our new charity home in Clifton. The first part of this year has been focused on welcoming families to our new centre and running our conductive education and speech and communication sessions from there.

 

“Thanks to the incredibly generous donation and support from FHP, we’re now able to start the works for the much-anticipated community coffee bar, which will be available not only for our families, but also for the community around us.

 

“The donation will also be used for our sensory room, another accessible and positive space which our families will benefit from as well as children, young people and adults across the area.

 

“We really are overwhelmed by the support we’ve received so far on our transformation project, from FHP and all of the organisations across the East Midlands, as well as the amazing number of volunteers who we’ve worked with. We’re so proud of the accessible, positive and community hub we’re developing.”

David Hargreaves, a Director of FHP, said:

“At FHP, the team always strives to support causes close to their heart and we’re delighted that we can help organisations such as Footprints that work tirelessly in improving lives in the local area.

 

“It’s incredibly important to promote the charity’s great work and we hope the new coffee bar and sensory room will continue to benefit Footprints’ families and communities.”

Ashby-based workplace consultancy Blueprint Interiors has been instrumental in enabling the charity to relocate from its former home in Sneinton by project-managing and sourcing donated materials for the transformation of a vacant building into a fully accessible centre for children and families living with disabilities.

Footprints continues to seek donations and volunteers for the ongoing project. If you’d like to support and be part of this exciting project, contact enquiries@footprintscec.org