West Sussex Project in development
A place to grow.
No barriers.
Woody's Greenhouse is a project to create a purpose-built, fully accessible place for growing, learning and community.
The first greenhouse has not yet been built.
WhatAn accessible greenhouse for shared growing and learning
WherePlanned for West Sussex; site arrangements remain open
NowAn active project seeking ideas, expertise and connections
The idea
Make room for everyone to take part.
A narrow route, a bed at the wrong height, or nowhere to work alongside someone else can decide who gets to join in.
Woody's starts with access in the design: space to move, places to work while seated, and growing areas people can use together. The aim is a working greenhouse where participation feels ordinary.
Meet Woody
A practical idea, shaped by lived experience.
Marc “Woody” Wodehouse founded the project. As a wheelchair user, he knows directly how the design of a place affects whether people can use it.
The idea began with a conversation about an allotment. When offered a plot where others could grow vegetables for him, Marc asked whether it could instead hold a greenhouse with raised beds wheelchair users could use. The plot was too small, but the question stayed.
Woody's is his answer: a place designed so people can grow, learn and spend time together from the start.
More about WoodyThe greenhouse
What could happen here?
These are intended activities for the first greenhouse, not services already operating.
Grow together
Sow, tend and harvest at accessible beds and workstations.
Learn by doing
Horticultural workshops, practical skills and school activities.
Spend time here
Community activity, conversation and ordinary time alongside others.
Help it keep going
Plant sales and partnerships are part of the proposed long-term mix.
One shared place
Different people.
One greenhouse.
The project is intended for wheelchair users, people with learning disabilities, people who feel isolated, local schoolchildren and the wider community. The purpose is shared activity, not separate provision behind separate doors.
Designed around access
Access changes the whole experience.
The greenhouse is being imagined as a place people can move through and work in together. The practical details matter:
- Room to moveClear routes with space for wheelchair movement between working areas.
- Work at a usable heightRaised growing and seated positions that let people reach the task.
- Space to shareGrowing tables and social space designed for people to take part side by side.
Final dimensions and layout will depend on the chosen site and design work.
The person behind the project
A life behind the idea.
Marc joined the Royal Navy as a young man and spent time at sea.
Later, he ran a specialist transport business for 33 years, organising unusually large loads across Europe.
“I've always been the ideas guy.”
In that business, he worked with a network of specialists to solve difficult practical problems. Woody's draws on that instinct for making things happen and on his direct experience of access.
Built to continue
Useful beyond the first build.
The intention is to support ongoing activity through a mix of growing, learning, plant sales and partnerships. How that works in practice is still being developed; no operating model has been proven yet.
Looking further ahead
First, make one greenhouse work.
Marc would love to explore a second Woody's Greenhouse in future. That is an ambition, not a committed roll-out. The first greenhouse comes first.
Where things stand
An active project. A greenhouse still to build.
Woody's Greenhouse is at the development stage. We will share confirmed details as the project takes shape.
- Established
- Marc is leading the idea for an access-first greenhouse in West Sussex.
- In progress
- The site and delivery arrangements are being worked through.
- Still to settle
- The organisational and funding structure, final design and build timetable.
Get involved
Could you help this take root?
At this stage, the most useful conversations are about knowledge, practical support, introductions and potential partnerships. If the idea connects with your work, we would like to hear from you.
Contact Woody's GreenhousePublic cash fundraising is not open through this website yet.
Or email contact@woodys-greenhouse.co.uk
Growing & making
Horticultural expertise, growers, suppliers, materials and equipment.
Opening doors
Useful introductions, local business and community partnerships, media reach.
Shaping participation
Accessibility expertise, schools, community groups and people who may use the space.