28 RETIREMENT LIVING PROJECT REPORT


out as many apartments as we can from land,” adding that socialisation is a big focus: “A fundamental part of what we offer is communal living for older people who are looking to move out of one environment into ours, and socialisation is fundamental to their health and wellbeing and integral to everything that we do.”


While he acknowledges that loneliness is “a big problem, especially for some of the older demographics that haven’t got family around them or their friends have passed away,” it is being addressed in the fi rms schemes such as epperpot ouse. eople here have that ability to make new connections, and it helps them to live longer.”


Safety is always a top priority in accommodation for older people, and epperpot ouse has A-assisted technology in the form of Nobi Smart Lamps in every room which include sensors and alert staff if – for example – someone has suffered a fall. Residents are also given smart watches which allow emergency calls to be made anywhere.


CONCLUSION


emand proved to be strong at epperpot ouse, with  of apartments pre-let


WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK


off plan. onor Barratt of Birchgrove says: “We’re delighted that so many of the apartments at epperpot ouse have been snapped up in advance of opening. t helps that we were able to secure such a central location and we’re really pleased to have been able to bring a disused site back to life.”


She concludes that much of the reason for the success of the scheme so far commercially “is that we were able to show prospective residents our other thriving local communities to give them an idea of what it’s like to live in one of our developments. Barratt continues e believe were fi rmly on a roll now and are confi dent we can achieve even higher pre-let rates as we roll our successful rental retirement living model out further across the country.” The accommodation market for older people has long been centred around selling apartments, and some have proven problematic when occupiers or their heirs wish to sell, given the somewhat limited demand. By contrast, Birchgroves rental model is designed to overcome this, and if it becomes as attractive as the company expects, it will open up a new stream of work for housebuilders.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68