Audley Groups' planning for new retirement community

The UK’s leading provider of retirement villages, Audley Group, has recently announced that, following extensive consultation with the local community and key stakeholders, it has submitted detailed planning and listed building application for a new integrated retirement community at the historic Headley Court site, near Leatherhead in Surrey.

Matthew Nicholson, planning director, of Audley Group, said, “It’s been a privilege to have the opportunity to get to know this historic site, and we have worked closely with local community groups, the plans we have submitted will lead to a stunning and sympathetic conversion that adds significantly to the area.”

“There is a real need for more high-quality retirement accommodation with care and wellbeing facilities on site, to both free up the housing market and ease pressure on the NHS and social care systems. The added bonus with this site is the ability that we have to give such a historic property a new lease of life,” he concluded.

Audley Group background

Audley Group is a specialist retirement housing provider which acquires sites, develops, and then operates retirement villages. The Group has two brands: Audley Villages, founded in 1991 and aimed at the luxury end of the market, and Mayfield Villages, a proposition with broader appeal. Audley Group now owns a portfolio of 21 villages across the country. 

The way it works is that owners buy their own house or apartment on a 250-year lease with access to facilities and flexible care if needed, enabling them to live an independent and healthy life. Audley Group is an accredited provider of home-care and a founder member of The Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO), the main body supporting Integrated Retirement Communities across the UK, setting standards for the sector, and representing the interests of consumers and providers at a national level.

History in the making

If approved, the proposal will safeguard the future of the Grade II listed historic mansion house and restore the vast landscape grounds which will, for the first time in history, be made available for the local community to enjoy.

The proposal will feature 112 apartments: providing much-needed specialist care accommodation for the Mole Valley District.

To promote sustainability, the proposals include significant measures such as substantial enhancements to local biodiversity within the site, with habitat improvements well in excess of policy requirements.

Additionally, a commitment to drastically reduce energy use through building fabric improvements and minimising water usage has also been proposed.

Lastly, the proposal aims to achieve a 4-rating for quality and sustainability under the Home Quality Mark (HQM) certification scheme which is operated by Building Research Establishment (BRE).