Audley Group, the UK’s leading provider of retirement villages, today announces it has exchanged on a new site in Lingfield, Surrey. Audley Group has purchased a 15-acre site on the St Piers Estate owned by national charity, Young Epilepsy. The village will be Audley’s fourth site in Surrey.
Young Epilepsy and Audley are proposing a landscape-led plan that will rejuvenate the St. Piers Estate, securing a sustainable long-term future for Young Epilepsy’s special education services on the estate, while creating a new integrated retirement community.
The joint plans include the removal and reuse of vacant and underused buildings, refurbishment and expansion of College facilities for young people, as well as the restoration of heritage assets, including two Grade II Listed buildings within the St. Pier’s Estate.
Subject to planning, the new retirement village will provide around 150 specialist retirement living units and be home to the Audley Club providing property owners and members of the local community with access to a restaurant, spa, gym and wellness studio.
Once complete, the village will also offer care to property owners and members of the local community through Audley Care, Audley’s stand-alone Care Quality Commission-registered care provider.
Young Epilepsy currently offers special education placements for 160 children and young people with complex needs, in addition it provides diagnostic and rehabilitation services for around 300 children per year.
The charity’s national work includes coordinating research into the causes and treatments of childhood epilepsy with partners in the fields of specialist health and research. The charity also provides innovative digital tools, information, and practical support for children and young people living with epilepsy across the UK. The charity is Tandridge’s largest employer and provides 580 jobs to local people, and the addition of the retirement village to the estate will add further employment opportunities for local people.
Young Epilepsy and Audley are currently running a public consultation on the plans for St Piers Estate providing opportunities for the local community to directly engage with the design team and help shape the plans before a planning application is submitted to Tandridge District Council.
John Nettleton, Group Land Director at Audley Group, said: “Young Epilepsy is an important national charity, and we are thrilled to be part of the plans to invest in, and secure its future. Lingfield will be an excellent addition to the existing Audley portfolio and aligns with our aim to deliver much needed retirement living properties to a market that is chronically underserved.
“The demand for more innovative housing solutions is only growing and giving the St Piers Estate a new lease of life will bring benefit to both the local community and economy. The buildings and landscape will be sympathetically restored with a focus on providing environmental benefits to the existing site.”
Mark Devlin, Chief Executive at Young Epilepsy, said: “It’s been fantastic to find a partner like Audley Group to work with on the rejuvenation of the St Piers Estate. We are incredibly passionate about continuing to deliver our specialist services to children, young people with epilepsy and their families, and the funding injection will make our plans for the future of St Piers School and College achievable. Not only this, it will improve the whole estate with benefits for the wider local community and environment.”
For more information or spokespeople for Audley Group contact [email protected].
View the press release (180KB PDF file, opens in a new window)