Rangeford Villages acquires retirement community contract

March 28, 2023

Rangeford Villages, the award-winning later living provider and operator, has announced that it has exchanged contracts on a 5-acre site in the charming Georgian market town of Dorking, Surrey.

Rangeford intends to develop, subject to planning permission being granted, a collection of 153 state-of-the-art 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, which will include a wealth of exceptional first-class amenities comprising a fully-equipped gym, exercise studio and spa that includes a swimming pool, sauna, and steam room, as well as a restaurant, bar, coffee shop and hair and beauty salon.

This represents another step on Rangeford’s ambitious growth plans to develop high quality service-led integrated retirement living communities throughout the country in a bid to address the under-supply of age-appropriate homes across the UK.

Located in a scenic setting on the southern edge of the Surrey Hills, an area of outstanding beauty, the exciting, new development will take advantage of its prime vantage point serving residents views of the picturesque Box Hill nature reserve, while being less than a mile from the bustling market town centre of Dorking with its diverse range of retail, food and drink, and entertainment facilities. Expected to have a gross development value of over £100 million on completion, construction is set to commence in mid-2024 subject to the receipt of planning permission.

Howard Nankivell, CEO of Rangeford Villages, commented: “Our portfolio expansion reflects the growing demand for quality retirement properties in the UK as we work diligently to deliver homes of the highest standard for the over 60s.

Our current pipeline is a testament to Rangeford’s commitment to address the chronic shortfall of senior housing nationally. We have set our sights on continuing to provide positive, future-proof later living solutions to support the independent living of our ageing population.

We look forward to seeing the completed scheme in due course and to introducing Rangeford’s highly coveted lifestyle-focused living to the over-60 community in Dorking.”

Doug Jones, Land and Planning Director of Rangeford Villages, continued: “We are delighted to have successfully secured this high quality site and we look forward to working with Life3A architects, Montague Evans and the wider consultant team towards submitting our planning application for a fully-inclusive integrated retirement community which adds to our existing portfolio of five villages. We would like to extend our thanks to Rangeford’s land team and our partners for making this possible!”

As with previous developments, Rangeford Villages has teamed up with Octopus Real Estate, part of the Octopus Group and a leading investor in healthcare facilities throughout the UK and Ireland, for the project. Once completed, it will be operated by Rangeford. The established partnership between Rangeford and Octopus Real Estate has already led to the creation of five successful retirement villages across the UK: Wadswick Green in Wiltshire, Mickle Hill in North Yorkshire, Siddington Park in Cirencester, Homewood Grove in Chertsey, and Strawberry Fields in Cambridgeshire.

Dorking is conveniently situated 22-miles south of London, just an hour away by train and is well connected with easy access to the M25.

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