Flourishing lives: New North Wales community hub celebrates brighter futures for learning disabled adults
It was a day of celebration as the ribbon was cut at the official opening of Coed y Ddraig
A pioneering new community hub in North Wales, where learning disabled adults grow in confidence, skills and independence alongside the plants they nurture, has officially opened its doors with people supported at the service cutting the ribbon.
Coed y Draig in Mold, a purpose-built, multi-million-pound centre operated by learning disability charity Hft, is transforming day and work opportunity support for learning disabled and autistic adults across Flintshire.
At the heart of Coed y Ddraig is 35 learning disabled adults.
The hub is anchored by simple but powerful idea: that with the right support, people can develop new skills, build confidence, make friends and take positive steps towards a more independent future.
Every day brings opportunities to try something new – from growing and making to learning and developing and understanding the importance of wellness and relaxation.
Coed y Ddraig gives the people we support the chance to learn practical horticultural skills, with organic fruit and vegetables grown using ‘no dig’ techniques across planted beds, a market garden, polytunnels and greenhouses.
And what people grow has real purpose.
Produce cultivated on site goes into meals served at centre’s café and is also supplied to Hft’s Caffi Dai outlets in Shotton and Conwy, whilst members of the local community can buy fresh produce from the on-site shop.
Plans are also in place to launch a vegetable box scheme and turn surplus produce into chutneys, pickles and jams for sale creating more opportunities to learn skills and see hard work become something enjoyed by local customers.
For many of those attending Coed y Ddraig, the experience is also a stepping stone towards employment.
Hft’s Supported Employment Team works alongside people at Coed y Ddraig helping them use the skills and confidence they’ve developed towards opportunities for paid work and greater independence.
Others are discovering different talents.
In the new dedicated woodwork space people make planters, birdboxes and signs from recycled pallet wood, and a pottery area provides another outlet for creativity and skill development.
There are also opportunities to focus on personal wellbeing through holistic therapies, including sound baths, breathwork and meditation, taught by Coed y Ddraig Hft Service Manager Clair Johnson.
The hub also has impressive eco credentials. Energy is generated by solar panels and all rainwater is harvested for use in growing. The building has 11 electric vehicle charging points.
And with nine acres of woodland on the site, there are ambitious plans for the future, including the creation of a community forest and meditation area, a forest school, native tree planting and a specialist autism base.
Clair said the vision for Coed y Ddraig goes far beyond what can be seen growing on the land.
“Coed y Ddraig is not just about growing plants and vegetables, it’s about the people we support growing better lives,” she said.
“Our vision is to inspire and equip learning disabled adults to achieve their full potential.”
The hub is also strengthening links between health and social care services.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board will use dedicated space at Coed y Ddraig to continue current service delivery, with facilities enabling therapeutic interventions from Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy. The space will also create opportunities for a wider range of clinical teams to deliver appropriate interventions in a community setting.
The development, completed by MPH Construction, has been made possible through £2.7 million of capital funding from Flintshire County Council and £2.9 million from the Welsh Government’s Health and Social Care Integration and Rebalancing Capital Fund.
Mel Shad, Hft Chief Operating Officer, said: “Places like Coed y Ddraig matter because they empower and enable the people we support to live a good life.
“A job. A new skill. New friends.
“The confidence to try something you’ve never done before. Greater independence and more choice about what you want your life to look like.
“Those things can feel very ordinary – and they should be. But too many learning disabled people still don’t have the same opportunities as everyone else to experience them.
“Coed y Ddraig shows what can happen when organisations work together around the ambitions of learning disabled people themselves. We’re immensely proud of what has been created here, but I’m even more excited about what the people we support will go on to achieve because of it.”
Councillor Christine Jones, Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Social Services and Wellbeing, said: “Coed y Draig has been designed around the needs of the people who use it, providing a welcoming, modern environment where people can access high-quality support in their own community, in a setting that promotes independence and wellbeing.
“It was wonderful to see the building fully operational and to hear first-hand about the difference it is already making to people’s lives”
The Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women’s Health, Delyth Jewell, said: “Coed y Ddraig is an example of what can be achieved when local authorities, health boards and partners work together to build services around the people who use them.
“This facility reflects this government’s commitment to strengthening local services and its aim of ensuring people can access high-quality care and support in their communities.
“Investments like this help build the capacity we need, so that residents living within these communities receive the right care, in the right place, closer to home. I look forward to seeing the lasting benefits Coed y Ddraig brings to local people for years to come.”
