The Retirement Villages Group (RVG), the UK’s leading provider of luxury retirement communities, has submitted a planning application to South Oxfordshire District Council for the development of a new community at Lower Shiplake, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
The outline application is for the development of 66 new residential units and 40 care beds across a 6.5 acre site, located two miles south of Henley-on-Thames on the edge of rural Oxfordshire, and close to excellent amenities. In keeping with the 14 high-end retirement villages in RVG’s UK portfolio, the new community will include a club house incorporating bar, restaurant, shop, gym, library, and meeting rooms as well as admin and domiciliary care offices for the benefit of the residents.
Earlier this month, RVG announced plans to significantly expand its portfolio of luxury retirement communities, and is embarking on its largest development programme in its 35-year history, with a pipeline of seven new locations that will be delivered over the next five years. The GDV (gross development value) of the new pipeline is in excess of €223.8m (£200m).
Lower Shiplake is among the sites spearheading this expansive programme of new development, and should planning consent be granted, work could start on-site Spring 2018, with the village opening to its first residents before the end of 2019.
The overall development pipeline is made up of 500 new residential units and 160 care beds across seven prime locations in the South East. Other sites are located at Gradwell, East Sussex; Merstham, Surrey; Saffron Walden, Essex; and West Malling, Kent. Planning consent has already been secured on two of the sites, while the others are being advanced through the planning process.
In addition to new development, RVG is also embarking on an investment programme of improvements to facilities and expansion across its existing village portfolio, with opportunities at eight of the fourteen sites. The existing operational portfolio comprises 1,274 units and over 400 care beds. A further 228 units will be developed through the expansion programme over the next five years. RVG is already currently investing around €22.4m (£20m) into this programme of expansion and improvement of existing villages.
