Charity’s new home revolutionises mental health support services in Lancashire
A ‘DIY SOS-style’ makeover of an office building has transformed the way Lancashire Mind provides life-changing mental health support services to adults, children and young people.
More than 20 businesses and organisations joined together to donate materials, time, skills, cash and goods worth more than £100,000 to provide the charity with a much-needed new home.
Led by construction company Eric Wright Group, they turned a ‘blank canvas’ building in Balfour Court, Leyland into a modern space and a community hub with room for one-to-one support, group meetings and more.
It allowed the charity to leave its former home in Chorley – two terraced houses knocked together – which it had outgrown due to expansion and increased demand for support.
The transformed building was officially opened on Thursday, when the business donors and special guests were all invited to see the finished building. Many have been made official ‘Founder Patrons’ of the charity to recognise their contributions.
Lancashire Mind’s CEO David Dunwell said: “Thanks to the overwhelming kindness of our business community, we’ve been able to move from an outdated office into one which has meeting rooms, training rooms and space for therapy.
“It represents Lancashire Mind and our vision as a charity; a place where we can connect, support and change minds. We’ll be forever in debt to our Patron partners who made this possible with their generosity, skills and hard work. We’re excited to begin this new era for Lancashire Mind, which will enable us to change lives for even more people across Lancashire.”
The Eric Wright Charitable Trust already funds resilience lessons in schools, delivered by Lancashire Mind staff, but jumped at the opportunity to lend further support via its Eric Wright Group Facilities Management and Construction arms, and garnered lots of support from sub-contractors.
Jeremy Hartley, Chief Executive, said:
“At Eric Wright Group we have a unique partnership between our commercial and charitable interests. 100% owned by the Eric Wright Charitable Trust we generate profit for a genuine purpose, with all profits either reinvested in the growth of the Group or directed by the Trust to support charitable activities across our region.
“The Eric Wright Charitable Trust has been a long supporter of Lancashire Mind, supporting the Bounce Forward project since 2019. The innovative programme helps children to improve their resilience and wellbeing, impacting many children’s daily lives as well as their future outlook.
“Across the Group we’ve also been working with Lancashire Mind to facilitate and support our workplace wellbeing, from training to our employee packages and wellbeing policies.
“This ongoing relationship created a natural fit to support Lancashire Mind’s office refurbishment, which we jumped at. With our ethos of connecting and supporting communities at the heart of what we do we used our expertise, skill and resources to support the project and are delighted with the tremendous joint effort and proud to be part of the end result.”
As well as Eric Wright Group, the following companies also donated towards the project: Amazon; AP Mitchell Group; Bagnalls Painting and Decorating; Crown Paints; Currys Preston Capitol Centre; Edmundson Electrical Preston; Flowrap; Forbo Flooring Systems; Granby; Instafix Interiors Ltd; Itec Security Solutions; Makim Electrical Ltd; Murray Building Services Ltd; NFU Mutual Central Lancashire; Optima Systems; Pilkington Bros Building Services; Scutum Fire and Security Ltd; South Ribble Borough Council; Taylor & Pickles Signage; The Percy Bilton Charity; The Senator Group.
Thursday’s event was attended by more than 50 special guests including the patrons, staff, charity trustees, and ambassadors, including former footballer Clarke Carlisle who was recently appointed chair of the national Mind charity.
The former Burnley, Preston and Blackpool centre-half, who officially opened the building by leading a ribbon cutting ceremony, said:
“Being a Leyland lad and knowing retrospectively how much my life would have changed if I had visibility and access to the services that are being delivered by the team here…
“It’s all here to deliver those services on the ground that are changing lives. This hub will transform lives in our communities. So yeah, let’s cut the ribbon, but let’s go and shout loud and proud about what’s on offer here.”
Clarke also paid tribute to teenager Annie Roberts who shared her own inspiring story and credited Lancashire Mind with saving her life.
He said:
“My emotions are up here right now… because there’s so much resonance and your bravery and strength in sharing your experience contemporaneously, just for everyone else to benefit from….
“I have so much admiration for you and I’m so delighted that you are on that upward trajectory.
“What I know I needed in my life was that hope. And the fact that Lancashire Mind gave you hope is amazing. And you’re now one year free of suicide attempt.
I’m nine years free and I want to encourage you in that. It all comes one day at a time, and we don’t do it on our own.”
Lancashire Mind is an independent mental health charity providing life-changing support to 13,594 people in 2025/26. As well as therapy, wellbeing coaching and parent workshops, the charity also works with businesses to support workplace wellbeing through training courses, an employee assistance programme (EAP) and a wellbeing business network.
For more information about support for you, a loved one, or work colleagues, visit lancashiremind.org.uk
For more member news, click here.
