Local people invited to a virtual consultation event presenting Retirement Living plans to regenerate a brownfield site in Exeter

McCarthy Stone is holding a virtual exhibition to display its plans for high-quality Retirement Living accommodation on land at the Buckerell Lodge Hotel, Topsham Road, Exeter.

Buckerell Lodge Hotel went into administration last year, following a difficult period in 2019 and the subsequent impact of the pandemic. McCarthy Stone has since acquired an interest in the site and is bringing forward plans for the site’s redevelopment with specialist Retirement Living accommodation.

The consultation, hosted online to ensure that engagement is safe and inclusive during the COVID-19 pandemic, will provide the community the opportunity to view and comment on McCarthy Stone’s proposals for the site, ahead of a planning application being submitted.

The plans will be available to view and comment on from 9th – 23rd March 2021 via the project’s dedicated website mccarthyandstoneconsultation.co.uk/exeter

Residents who wish to engage in the consultation but cannot access the internet can contact the project team on 0800 298 7040, who will arrange for a hard copy to be sent.
Shane Paull, Divisional Managing Director at McCarthy Stone Southern Division, said: “Our plans provide an important opportunity to deliver much-needed specialist Retirement Living accommodation on a sustainable, brownfield site, which is ideally located to provide homes for older people.”

He added: “We are proposing a high-quality, sensitive redevelopment which responds to the constraints of the site and the surrounding properties. We will be displaying our proposals through a virtual exhibition to understand feedback on our proposals and respond to any queries the community has about the plans at this stage. That way, we can incorporate and address the views of the local community into the design process and our plans for the site, where possible.”

McCarthy Stone’s plans propose to replace the existing building on-site, with approximately 64 one and two-bedroom Retirement Living apartments, contained within a new single building, which has been carefully designed to positively contribute to the street scene and to respect neighbouring buildings. The proposals will also provide on-site communal facilities such as a residents’ communal lounge and a hotel-style guest suite for when friends and family come to stay, extensive new landscaping, including attractive shared garden spaces, together with on-site car parking.

The over-65s population in Exeter is predicted to rise significantly over the course of the next 20 years. The Exeter City Council Strategic Housing Market Assessment (2014) outlines that the number of over 65s will increase by over 39%. Redeveloping this brownfield site with specialist Retirement Living apartments will help address the need for specialist housing that meets the needs of local older people, and significantly improve their housing choice. Typically, most residents moving to a McCarthy Stone development move within a 5-mile radius from the development, releasing family housing back into the local market.

Retirement Living accommodation

Retirement Living developments enable McCarthy Stone’s homeowners to continue to live independent and healthy lives in their own home. Apartments can be occupied by people aged 60 or over and are provided for outright sale, as well as shared ownership, rent and part rent-part buy.

Along with the benefits of independent living within their own apartments, homeowners are able to enjoy activities in the shared spaces at the heart of the development. These include a spacious shared lounge for socialising and events, mobility scooter charging room, and a guest suite for when friends and family come to stay.

All of McCarthy Stone’s developments also include beautifully landscaped outside spaces which enhance both the building and the local neighbourhood, as well as providing a social area for homeowners to come together. The shared spaces provided with McCarthy Stone’s developments create a ready-made supportive and vibrant community that is available for homeowners to access, as little or as much as they choose.

With more than 40 years of experience and expertise, McCarthy Stone helps its homeowners to find more time to enjoy their retirement by freeing them of the burdens of their previous home. McCarthy Stone not only provides purpose-built accommodation for those in later life, it also promotes an active and enriched lifestyle, with a range of communal facilities and activities throughout its schemes across the country.

McCarthy Stone organises over 10,000 social events every month within its managed properties across the country. Homeowners are free to join in as much or as little as they like, but many benefit from this active social calendar.

McCarthy Stone hopes to submit a planning application in the coming months, following a full review of the feedback it receives. Residents that have any further comments or require more information can contact the project team with any questions via a Freephone Information Line on 0800 298 7040, email feedback@mccarthyandstone-consultation.co.uk, or visit the project website: mccarthyandstoneconsultation.co.uk/exeter.