Construction to begin on new retirement village in Hereford

The development of a new retirement village on the outskirts of Hereford will soon begin.

The site in Holmer will provide 80 one and two-bedroom apartment for affordable rent and is being delivered by Vistry Partnerships and Platform Housing Group.

Platform Housing Group, who run a similar development at Harling Court in Ledbury, will also provide onsite care and support services plus various communal facilities for the residents.

Cllr Ange Tyler, Cabinet Member for Housing, Regulatory Services and Community Safety at Herefordshire Council, said: ‘Providing affordable housing is a key issue for Local Authorities across Britain, and Herefordshire is no different. One of our key priorities is to deliver safe, comfortable and affordable housing, particularly for vulnerable people. We are therefore delighted to be working in partnership with Vistry Partnerships and Platform Housing Group on this project, and look forward to the new Retirement Village taking shape.’

Darren Beale, Regional Managing Director at Vistry Partnerships West Midlands, added: ‘We have extensive experience designing and constructing extra care schemes and we’re very pleased to be working in partnership again with Platform Housing. As one of the country’s leading regeneration specialists we recognise the need to support our partners to build homes across all tenures, particularly homes and care services for older people.’

£19m is being spent on the project, which is anticipated to begin in the spring.

Steve Eaves, Director of Regeneration at Platform Housing, also commented: ‘This is a fantastic partnership that will provide much needed older persons housing in a very popular and strategically important area for our partners at Herefordshire Council. We are also very much looking forward to working with Vistry again. They have a great rack record of successfully delivering large schemes with Platform.’

In related news, older people should be helped to spend their later years in urban retirement housing in town and city centres, rather than heading for the coast or countryside, according to the Social Market Foundation (SMF).

Photo supplied by Herefordshire Council