Neurodivergent-friendly café opens at University Centre Birkenhead 2026

Key Points

• The Ground Up Project has unveiled its third location of an external café at University Centre Birkenhead, located in Marriss House.
• The welcoming café is aimed to provide nursing students, university staff, and professional community located in healthcare-focused university campus.
• The business gives people living with neurodivergence access to practical training and jobs, including the members of Petty Pool College.
• According to Sarah Lowe, head of community impact at The Petty Pool Trust, each Ground Up café has a unique character, although the idea behind – to unite people with help of coffee and give them chances – is the same.
• Angie Standish, head of careers and employability at the University of Chester, congratulated the project for being aimed at neuro-inclusive activities and added that collaboration gives an opportunity to develop confidence and skills to neurodivergent people.
• According to Trace Street, head of commercial services at the University of Chester, the cafe provides a great chance to network and to get recharged while being consistent with the university’s policy of inclusion and community impact.
• The previous locations of the external Ground Up cafes were: theatre Porto in Ellesmere Port (2024) and The Proud Place in Manchester, which caters to the

Birkenhead (Liverpool standard) September 16, 2026 – A new inclusive café run by social enterprise The Ground Up Project has opened at University Centre Birkenhead, marking the organisation’s third site outside its base at Petty Pool and expanding access to training and employment for neurodivergent people in the city centre.

What has opened at University Centre Birkenhead and who will it serve?

The café is located within Marriss House at University Centre Birkenhead, the University of Chester’s specialist healthcare education hub in the town. It will cater to nursing students, university staff and the wider professional community based in the building, which houses advanced clinical skills facilities and simulated hospital environments used to train future healthcare workers.

As reported by staff at Birkenhead News, the centre is home to specialist teaching facilities where students develop the knowledge and confidence they will use when caring for people across the region, and the café is intended to become a place where they can pause, recharge and collaborate.

How does the café support neurodivergent people?

The Ground Up Project, created by the Cheshire-based Petty Pool Trust, exists to create opportunities, build confidence and develop skills through welcoming café spaces where great coffee brings people together. At the Birkenhead site, this mission translates into hands-on training and employment opportunities for neurodivergent individuals, including learners from Petty Pool College.

Sarah Lowe, head of community impact at The Petty Pool Trust and speaking on behalf of The Ground Up Project, said: “Every Ground Up café has its own personality because every community is different. What never changes is our purpose. We believe great coffee can bring people together, create opportunities and help people feel welcome and connected.” She added: “We’re incredibly proud to become part of the University Centre Birkenhead community and to support the students, staff and professionals based here every day.”

What do university leaders say about the partnership?

Angie Standish, head of careers and employability at the University of Chester, said she was inspired by The Ground Up Project after learning about it at Petty’s Pool Neuro-inclusion conference. “Since learning about The Ground Up Project at Petty’s Pool Neuro-inclusion conference, I have been inspired by their commitment to help neurodivergent young people gain skills and independence through inclusive work opportunities,” Standish said.

Standish continued: “Combining great coffee with developing skills and experience is such a transformative way to nurture talent and support personal and professional growth. Supporting individuals who are neurodivergent to develop confidence and discover strengths is something that we’re very much proud to be part of.”

Trace Street, head of commercial services at the University of Chester, said the university was delighted to welcome The Ground Up Project to the Birkenhead campus. “The café will provide a valuable space for our students, staff, commercial occupants and visitors to connect, relax and recharge, while also supporting an organisation that is making a meaningful difference through its commitment to inclusion, opportunity and community impact,” Street said. “Ground Up’s values align strongly with our own and we look forward to seeing it become an important part of campus life.”

Where else has The Ground Up Project opened cafés?

The Birkenhead site is the third Ground Up café to open outside of Petty Pool. Other locations include Theatre Porto in Ellesmere Port, which opened in 2024, and The Proud Place in central Manchester, which serves the LGBTQ+ community at a venue operated by The Proud Trust.

By creating cafés in different communities and settings, Ground Up is extending its social impact while seeking to unlock opportunities for work experience and employment for neurodivergent individuals, including learners from Petty Pool College, according to coverage by Birkenhead News.

What are the next plans for The Ground Up Project?

The Ground Up Project says more cafés are planned as part of its ongoing mission to foster inclusive spaces across the region. The organisation aims to broaden its social impact by offering supportive pathways to employment in diverse settings and communities, with each new site designed to reflect the character of its local area while keeping the same core purpose.

Background to the development

The Ground Up Project is the social enterprise arm of The Petty Pool Trust, a Cheshire charity that supports neurodivergent young people into independence. Its cafés operate as inclusive training environments where learners gain practical hospitality skills, confidence and work experience in real customer-facing settings. The model pairs a community café offer—coffee, food and a welcoming space—with structured opportunities for neurodivergent people to develop employability skills and move towards sustained work.

University Centre Birkenhead, part of the University of Chester, specialises in healthcare education and hosts nursing and other health-related programmes. The campus includes advanced clinical skills facilities and simulated hospital environments that prepare students for frontline roles. The addition of a social enterprise café aligns with the university’s stated priorities on inclusion, student wellbeing and community impact, according to statements from senior staff.

Prediction: how this development could affect students, staff and neurodivergent learners

For nursing students and university staff, the café provides an on-site space to meet, study and take breaks without leaving Marriss House, potentially improving day-to-day convenience and wellbeing on a demanding campus. For neurodivergent learners, the site creates another accessible entry point into hospitality work, with the possibility of building references, routines and transferable skills that support longer-term employment.

If The Ground Up Project’s expansion continues as planned, the growing network of sites across the region could normalise inclusive hiring in local hospitality, encourage other employers to adopt similar models, and increase the number of neurodivergent people in sustained work in Merseyside and beyond.