• Swindon & Wiltshire Property
• Thursday June 18 2026

Bristol construction firm to build state-of-the-art centre for disability charity

Bristol construction firm Oakland Construction is working with disability charity Gympanzees to build a state-of-the-art, fully accessible exercise, play, and social centre for disabled children and young people.

Works have begun on site in South Gloucestershire, adjacent to the M48 Severn Bridge, to convert the former Severn View services building into a first-of-its-kind facility.

The project will initially convert the ground floor of the building (2350m2 approx.) transforming the space into circa 10 rooms for play, including a gym, light and dark sensory rooms, an active sensory space and trampoline room, a café, music room and soft play.

The project is due to complete in late 2026.

Tom Lee-Fox, managing director at Oakland Construction, said: “It’s a real privilege to have been instructed on this project. It plays to our strengths as a regional contractor with experience across health, education and care settings.

“We do not see this as just another construction project, but an opportunity to be part of Gympanzees’ journey and to make a difference to the lives of the incredible people who both work for and are supported by Gympanzees – we cannot wait to get started!”

This project highlights the charity’s move towards a more consistent level of care for families, with an estimated 90,000 families within an hour’s drive of the centre, who would benefit from the service.

The new centre will enable Gympanzees to receive over 200,000 visits a year, a considerable uplift on the 28,000 visitors they have supported over their 6 years of pop-up events. This will help the charity improve the lives of countless more young people and give so many families the support they desperately need.

Stephanie Wheen, founder and chief executive of Gympanzees said: “We can’t thank our funders, corporate partners, and the public enough for their support. We’ve had fantastic feedback on our services so far, but families deserve more than temporary pop-up events and remote support.”

With over £8,000,000 raised to date, Gympanzees is still actively fundraising to complete the project, with a public fundraising target of £1m in 2026.

Oakland Construction is an independent and privately-owned business with over 35 years’ experience in new build and refurbishment projects across housing, healthcare, heritage, education and commercial markets.

Oakland cites recent projects with Snapdragons Nursery School in Horfield and Cribbs Causeway, as well as built-for-purpose medical and sensory facilities, Paul’s Place Hub among recent work.