Anchor, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of specialist housing and care for people in later life, and McCarthy Stone, the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, have received a resolution to grant planning permission for their proposals to redevelop the former Royal Works site in Sutton Coldfield.
The development will be the fifth retirement community from the partnership to start construction, which will see more than 1,000 truly affordable, multi-tenure retirement properties across eight large-scale retirement villages currently in the pipeline, with more to be added. The range of tenures on offer will meet different affordability levels among older people, including home ownership, shared ownership and social rent.
The Sutton Coldfield community will deliver 137 high-quality one and two-bedroom apartments, designed to meet the diverse needs of Sutton Coldfield’s growing and ageing population and allow customers to tailor the level of care they require. The development will consist of two buildings, designed to form one cohesive retirement community, with shared facilities and landscaped gardens accessible for residents of both buildings. The proposals present an exciting opportunity to offer affordable specialist care accommodation, with 85 of the apartments provided as either social rent or shared ownership. The development will have a GDV of around £40million.
Katie Fisher, divisional managing director at McCarthy Stone, said: “We are delighted that our plans to deliver specialist retirement accommodation in Sutton Coldfield have been approved. Our proposals will help address the local demand for specialist retirement accommodation, providing greater choice for those in later life whilst freeing up the wider housing market for families and first-time buyers further down the chain. We would like to thank local stakeholders and residents for their input and feedback throughout the planning process and we look forward to becoming a part of this community.”
Leanne Taylor, land manager for Anchor, said: “The UK’s population is ageing, and it is vital that a range of housing options are available to support people’s needs and expectations as they grow older. The development in Sutton Coldfield will create high-quality, affordable accommodation for older people in the local community, ensuring that more people have homes where they love living in later life.”
Research undertaken by WPI Economics considered the economic impacts of having specialist retirement accommodation near the local high street. The research indicates that this development in Sutton Coldfield, with 137 units, would likely generate around £1.6 million of spending per year, over £1 million of which would be in local businesses.
