Inspired Villages, a leading later living provider and operator, announces that it has completed the purchase of a 27-acre site in Edenbridge, Kent. The deal represents the 29th site within its £500 million joint venture between NatWest Pension Group Fund and Legal & General, through which it plans to open 34 Integrated Retirement Communities, providing over 5,000 homes for around 8,000 people.
The former golf course site was occupied by the Kent and Surrey Golf Club and has planning permission for 184,000 square feet of accommodation including a 100-unit Integrated Retirement Community.
Inspired completed the purchase of the site within a 6-week period and will now consult locally on revisions to the existing permission including a range of facilities the wider community can benefit from, including a restaurant and wellness suite.
By creating vibrant communities carefully designed for the needs of older people and focused on promoting an active lifestyle, Inspired Villages aims to improve the holistic wellbeing for the over 65s and support them in living healthier, independent lives for longer.
Providing significant social and economic benefits, Integrated Retirement Communities not only free up local family housing but also reduce strains on a local area’s health and social care system, including major savings to NHS and social care budgets and reduced GP visits.
The site is just a 15-minute walk from Edenbridge Town Centre, a bustling market town with supermarkets and independent retailers. Edenbridge is well connected by both rail and road with an hourly, 38-minute train journey to London Bridge via the local overground station, while access to the M25 can be achieved in less than 20 minutes.
Inspired Villages currently has eight operational villages located across the UK, from Cheshire to Exeter with a further three sites under construction, including the Country’s first Net Zero Carbon[1] Integrated Retirement Community, Millfield Green, which will open this Autumn. Edenbridge becomes the latest site acquisition by Inspired within its growing development pipeline.
Neal Dale, Chief Development & Property Officer for Inspired Villages comments: “We welcome the addition of Edenbridge to our portfolio of sites and are excited by its potential in a popular and thriving location for us.
“We are keen to start progressing plans for the village here whilst raising awareness and gaining support from the local community. The provision of this type of age-appropriate accommodation is of wider benefit as it naturally frees up housing stock throughout every element of the property ladder.
“The sense of holistic wellbeing and community we seek to create within our villages also proves beneficial to the surrounding areas where we are currently operating. Our Inspired Friendships programme is already well-established in Kent and seeks to reduce loneliness and isolation of those not just living with a village, but the wider community also.
“Edenbridge is part of our wider business vision to open 34 sites as we embark on a mission to become the leading retirement community operator in the UK, with communities that are flourishing and residents living the best years of their lives.”
Once completed, the village at Edenbridge will join the current South-East based Inspired Villages; Bramshott Place in Hampshire, Durrants in West Sussex and Ledian Gardens in Kent.
