Housing and community regeneration specialist, Keepmoat has reported the need for more retirement solutions in the North East, following the recent completion of the firms mixed use Southwick development.
Keepmoat describes how the over 55 market made a beeline for the 30 bungalows on offer at the popular extra care development, which featured a full range of on-site facilities, some of which were made available to the general public, and popularity continued to soar with considerable local residents asking if there was plans to build more.
Lee Francis, area director for Keepmoat in the North East said: “There is a real stigma around the term ‘care home’ and housing which is intended for the older market. The bungalows we built at Southwick however, were constructed solely for the over 55 age bracket, which is by no means ‘old’ and they’ve been an unprecedented hit with buyers.
“The reality is there is a huge generation of parents with grown up children, or couples looking to downsize because they no longer need a big home, and Southwick ticked all the boxes.
“It’s not just about creating appropriate homes for the over 55s, but creating a whole community and lifestyle that they can enjoy in their retirement.”
The £11.5m Southwick scheme boasted restaurants, communal areas and hairdressers, which were also open to the wider public to encourage integration with the local community and prevent isolation.
The wider project included 100 extra care apartments – 20 of which were specifically designed for persons with dementia – as well as the 30 mixed tenure bungalows. The development was delivered in partnership with Housing & Care 21, Sunderland Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
Lee added: “The council’s vision is to create a city where everyone can be supported to make healthy lifestyle choices and have the opportunity to live long, happy and independent lives.
“Given the sustained interested in Southwick and the swift sales on the bungalows, we are confident that this is a key growth market for us going forward and we will continue to work with our partners to deliver these much needed schemes for people in the region.”
For more information regarding Keepmoat, please visit keepmoat.com.