Ground broken on ‘retirement community’ project in Horndean as work on 60-bed care home kicks off ahead of planned development of 120 homes on boundary of South Downs National Park

In the first phase of the project, property developer Highwood Group, working with care operator Barchester Healthcare, has begun building a 60-bed care home on the boundary of the South Downs National Park.

Completion of the care home, set to feature a café, spa bathrooms, a cinema, and an in-house hair and beauty salon, is expected in summer 2023.

Grant Jensen, senior property development manager at Barchester, said: ‘We are really excited to get this project under way.

‘The new care home will be a fantastic addition to the Barchester estate and deliver high-quality care to the local community.’

The second phase of the project will be the retirement village, developed by Highwood Group in partnership with Inspired Villages.

Steve Matthews, Highwood’s managing director, said: ‘This is the beginning of a truly exciting and ambitious care and retirement development, in a truly unique site on the edge of the South Downs National Park.

‘Our specialist teams have been carefully planning this for a number of years, from securing the land, to obtaining planning permission. To see it finally break ground is fantastic.

‘We’re absolutely thrilled to embark on the first phase with our trusted and valued partner, Barchester Healthcare, and we’re all excited with plans for phase two with our new partner, Inspired Villages.’

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Phase two has outline planning permission for 120 retirement dwellings.

The site will also include a village centre with a swimming pool, gym, library, restaurant, bar/café and cinema room.

The submission for Reserved Matters for the retirement village will be made in the new year, with work due to start in 2022.

Neal Dale, development director at Inspired Villages, said: ‘Inspired Villages is committed to creating industry-leading, sustainable retirement villages so people have more lifestyle choices as they age.

‘We are therefore excited to be developing and operating the new integrated retirement community in Horndean which will sit alongside Barchester’s new care home.

‘Our Horndean scheme will be a net zero (regulated energy) retirement village thanks to features such as air source heat pumps and solar panels, benefiting our residents and the environment generally.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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