{"id":378221,"date":"2026-01-19T09:21:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T09:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/378221\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T09:21:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T09:21:31","slug":"john-puttick-converts-listed-grimsby-warehouses-into-youth-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/378221\/","title":{"rendered":"John Puttick converts listed Grimsby warehouses into youth club"},"content":{"rendered":"

The former West Haven Maltings and Migar House buildings in Grimsby were constructed from the 1820s onwards on the River Freshney. They famously produced \u2018Sandars\u2019 malt until the 1960s; then served as a billiards hall, sawmill, cake and seed warehouse and box factory before closing in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

The project, which secured planning consent in July 2021<\/a>, retrofits the existing buildings and introduces new additions such as a charcoal-grey, zinc-clad sports hall with a saw-tooth roof and a full-height climbing wall, to create an L-shaped Horizon Youth Zone for national youth charity OnSide.<\/p>\n

Horizon, delivered in partnership with North East Lincolnshire Council, English Heritage and the local business community, as well as young people, is the 16th\u00a0centre to be run by OnSide, which has built a network of centres across the UK\u2019s most disadvantaged areas. It forms a key part of Grimsby\u2019s wider regeneration strategy.<\/p>\n

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The largest warehouse has been opened up to create a generous central gathering space where young people can meet, join activities and enjoy a hot meal.<\/p>\n

The project also includes a 1,120m2 single-storey extension of dark grey brick and expanded aluminium mesh cladding. This houses a performance space, teaching kitchen and an outside area with football pitch, skatepark and raised planters sheltered by the L-shaped plan.<\/p>\n

Access to the scheme is via a pedestrian bridge across the river leading to the triple-height central area with caf\u00e9 and recreation facilities.<\/p>\n

Other specialist facilities include an inclusion room for those with complex sensory needs and a hygiene suite for severely disabled young people.<\/p>\n

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Celebrating the heritage of the original warehouses, the large arched openings and pattern of windows have been restored and reconstructed, while internal brickwork and timber trusses were left exposed where possible. Salvaged bricks have also been reused to rebuild the ageing river wall.<\/p>\n

Through retention of existing structure, material reuse, PVs, ventilation wind catchers and enhanced insulation, the building achieves a 54 per cent improvement in energy efficiency over a benchmark building of its type without the improvement measures.<\/p>\n

OnSide\u2019s aim is to develop \u201821st-century youth facilities\u2019 across the UK, and give young people \u2018somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to\u2019. It welcomes 200 or more young people to each site in its network daily at a cost of 50p per visit along with a \u00a35 membership.<\/p>\n

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The Grimsby project is modelled on OnSide\u2019s existing Youth Zones, including a scheme in Croydon,<\/a>\u00a0which opened in 2019, also designed by John Puttick Associates.<\/p>\n

Its other 16 open clubs are in Bolton, Blackburn, Wigan, Carlisle, Manchester, Oldham, Wolverhampton, Wirral, Chorley, Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Croydon and East Manchester, and have more than 55,000 members.<\/p>\n

Another club in Preston, again by John Puttick, is due to open this year. It is the first project that the practice partnered with OnSide on, after winning a competition to design it in 2015. It finally secured planning consent for its reworked designs<\/a> on a new site opposite Preston Bus Station in 2023, seven years after original proposals were approved.<\/p>\n

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Architects\u2019 views<\/p>\n

It has been a long and fascinating journey through design and construction, and transforming these historic warehouses into a youth hub has been incredibly rewarding. It\u2019s very exciting to see the revival of a key part of Grimsby\u2019s townscape contributing towards renewal of the town centre and the life of the community for the future.<\/p>\n

John Puttick, director, John Puttick Associates<\/p>\n

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Model<\/p>\n

Horizon Youth Zone allowed us to balance heritage conservation with modern facilities. From the triple-height social space to the outdoor kick pitch, it\u2019s wonderful to see young people interacting with the building and enjoying it fully. By blending historic architecture with bold contemporary design, we aim to create a vibrant destination where young people feel a genuine sense of ownership and connection.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Ireson, associate, John Puttick Associates<\/p>\n

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Client\u2019s view<\/p>\n

Seeing the way the landscape has changed throughout this project has been so exciting. We were used to seeing a derelict site in the heart of our town centre. Now, thanks to the incredible construction work, this historic building gets to have a new lease of life and live on for future generations. This project has been a perfect blend of old and new, bringing our heritage to the forefront and providing a safe and inclusive space for the children and young people of North East Lincolnshire.<\/p>\n

Lucy Ottewell-Key, chief executive officer, Horizon Youth Zone<\/p>\n

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Project data<\/p>\n

Location Grimsby
Local authority North East Lincolnshire Council
Start on site date September 2023
Completion\u00a0November 2025
Gross internal floor area 2,995m\u00b2
Gross (internal + external) floor area 4,055m\u00b2
Architect John Puttick Associates
Form of contract\u00a0Design and Build (architect novated)
Client Horizon Youth Zone
Conservation architect Seven Architecture
Structural engineer Ramboll and Craddys
M&E consultant TACE
Quantity surveyor Walker Sime
Project manager Walker Sime
Principal designer Jacob Feasey Associates
Approved building inspector Clarke Banks
Fire consultant Clarke Banks
Main contractor Hobson & Porter
CAD software used Revit, MicroStation<\/p>\n

Environmental performance data<\/p>\n

On-site energy generation 24%
Annual mains water consumption 1.82 m\u00b3\/occupant
Airtightness at 50pa 7 m\u00b3\/h.m\u00b2
Heating and hot water load 29.21 kWh\/m\u00b2\/yr
Overall area-weighted U-value 0.21 W\/m\u00b2K
Annual CO2 emissions 11.81 kgCO2eq\/m\u00b2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The former West Haven Maltings and Migar House buildings in Grimsby were constructed from the 1820s onwards on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-378221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}