Plans for Integrated Retirement Community in Weybridge submitted following Positive Community Feedback
Respondents to consultation were strongly supportive of plans to convert the current office building into a retirement community
Plans for a new Integrated Retirement Community in Weybridge have been submitted by later living operators Amicala and development partner, Socius, following a four-month consultation with residents and community organisations.
Around 600 people responded to the most recent round of consultation about proposals to repurpose the existing JTI Headquarters, a 10-acre site on Members Hill at Brooklands in Weybridge, into specialist accommodation for senior living.
Respondents to the latest round of consultation were strongly supportive of plans to convert the current office building into a retirement community.
A further majority supported the proposed designs, which have now been submitted to Elmbridge Borough Council as a planning application.
Integrated Retirement Communities remain a relatively new concept in the UK.
Unlike traditional care facilities, residents own their own home with more space, including their own front door, to maintain independence and privacy.
There is a strong focus on community, combating loneliness and boosting wellbeing.
The plans include 205 purpose-built, age-appropriate homes for sale alongside a range of amenities that will be accessible to the wider community including shops, a hydropool, exercise studio and café, enabling residents to live active and healthy lives.
Henry Lumby, Chief Development Officer, Amicala, said: “Our plans will provide much needed new homes for local older people seeking to right-size within their local community. This green and vibrant community-setting, will integrate with the wider community to combat isolation, boost wellbeing, and support residents to live healthier, happier lives.
“These extra care facilities have been shown to reduce pressure on the local NHS and wider care system, whilst also freeing-up local family sized homes.
“Ultra-sustainable, Members Hill will be net zero in operation, utilising all-electric and on-site renewable energy solutions, from solar panels to electric vehicles.”
Doug Higgins, Project Director, Socius said: “For the last few months we’ve been in consultation with the community as we’ve developed plans for this innovative new Integrated Retirement Community in Weybridge, and we are pleased that local people have been so supportive of our proposals.”
“We have chosen not to demolish, but to sensitively and sustainably repurpose this existing office building to provide later living accommodation, saving over 3,000 tonnes of carbon. We will protect and enhance local nature and green spaces, with a net gain in biodiversity.
“Through dynamic landscape design and public art, we will celebrate the site’s unique history and heritage, which includes part of the original Brooklands racetrack.”
About Integrated Retirement Communities
Purpose-built integrated retirement communities cater for the specific needs of older people as they age, alongside management and delivery of care and assistance, which can be increased or decreased depending on the individual circumstances of each resident.
Such accommodation brings considerable benefits for the health and wellbeing of older people, as well as extensive wider social and community benefits, including significant savings for the NHS and social care system, and benefits to the wider housing market.
About Socius
Socius is an impactful developer with projects across the UK, working in partnership to balance profit and purpose, whilst delivering inspiring and sustainable mixed-use places for people to live, work and socialise.
A privately-owned mixed-use developer with a focus on delivering long-term financial and social value for communities across the UK, Socius will work in partnership with local residents, businesses and stakeholders over the coming months to bring forward long term plans.
Socius is also delivering sustainable mixed-use developments in Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge and Milton Keynes.
About Amicala
AMICALA is committed to the delivery of integrated retirement communities within a thoughtfully designed and sustainable environment that incorporate world leading practice. An Amicala community will be vibrant, offering an integrated approach to care and well-being through a range of services and amenities, that support the needs of residents as they change over time. The proposed community at Members Hill will be Amicala’s second after St Christopher’s Square in Bristol.
CEO, Paul Spence, has spent the last eight years in senior living and has a long track record of managing businesses. CDO Henry Lumby, was formerly Head of Retirement Living at Savills and has a 20-year + history in the industry. COO, Helen Jones, was Head of Operations for Domain Principal roup and has a 20-year history in the Australian care and senior living industry before transferring to the UK in 2017. CFO, Michael Davies, has spent the last eight years in senior living and is a qualified Chartered Accountant with many years of experience of small and large companies alike.
Amicala is owned by Seniors Living Group Ltd (SLG) and is a key part of the group’s focus on the senior living sector. Alongside Amicala, SLG owns Allegra Care, which is a central and southern England focused care and nursing home operations business that currently operates homes in North Somerset, Hampshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.
