McCarthy & Stone has announced its plans to build an exclusive new development of 85 owner-occupied apartments in Salisbury, Wiltshire, following the resolution to grant planning consent on 17 August 2017 by Wiltshire Council. Of the 85 units, 61 will be Retirement Living Plus (Extra Care) apartments, while the remaining 24 units will be part of the Company’s Retirement Living range.
The development, which will occupy the site of the former Aviva offices in Castle Street, is conveniently located in the heart of the medieval city and is close to the cathedral, shops and amenities. The former Aviva offices, which have been vacant since their closure in October 2016, will be rebuilt to make way for the new development.
The development will feature both one and two bedroom apartments and a number of shared services. The Retirement Living Plus development provides private apartments with flexible care and support packages provided by McCarthy & Stone’s on-site team, a bistro, a shared lounge, well-being suite, and function room. The Retirement Living development will feature private apartments and a shared homeowners’ lounge.
Further to the Company’s announcement in August that it will build a separate €26.7m (£23.5m) development in Amersham, confirmation of planning consent for the Salisbury development means that, upon completion, the development will be one of 80 new sales releases by the Company in 2017/18. This reflects the Company’s commitment to reaching its medium-term objective of building and selling more than 3,000 units a year.
Gary Day, McCarthy & Stone’s Group Land and Planning Director commented: “We know that the number of people in the UK aged 65 or over is set to rapidly increase over the next two decades and that almost two in five over 65s are interested in downsizing. Despite this, very little specialist retirement housing has ever been built in the UK, and the announcement of our new development in Salisbury is evidence of the fact we are committed to addressing this shortfall. Our Retirement Living and Retirement Living Plus ranges will offer customers in Salisbury a choice of our stunning high- specification apartments, as well as the flexibility to opt for discrete care packages available on-site. We are excited to bring our fantastic product to Salisbury, and afford even more customers the opportunity to live an independent lifestyle in attractive and convenient locations.”
The site is currently being prepared for construction, which is due to start in early to mid-2018.
