Housing, jobs and community boost with launch of Earlsdon Park Retirement Village

A £44m, high-rise development for older people has opened in Coventry this week, boosting the city’s retirement housing options, jobs and community facilities.

Residents and staff celebrated the opening with a flashmob – watch it here!

The state of the art, 10-storey Earlsdon Park Retirement Village also effectively generates two homes for one, as occupants downsize into purpose-built retirement properties, freeing up their previous home for sale or rent.

The integrated care and housing scheme, designed by architects Nicol Thomas, incorporates 262 one and two-bedroom apartments – 101 for sale, 109 for shared ownership.

The innovative development, close to the city centre and on the site of the former Butts Technical College, is a partnership between ExtraCare Charitable Trust, Coventry City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency, which contributed £1.45m.

Construction work by Galliford Try started at the village two years ago and has provided more than 200 construction jobs. Around 35 village staff have been recruited locally to support the on-site care, hospitality, housekeeping and leisure services.

Rental homes are reserved for those needing personal care with a third of the 350 residents, including those with dementia, receiving support within their own home from specialist health and social care staff following individual care assessments.

Over 83% of ExtraCare care staff across the charity’s locations are qualified to QCF (NVQ) Level 2 in Health and Social Care (the national training requirement is 50%). A well-being service will provide advice on healthy living, supporting early diagnosis and GP referral linked to common conditions such as diabetes or abnormal blood pressure.

All homes are within easy access of the village centre where facilities include a bar and bistro, library, hair and beauty salon, games room, fitness suite and greenhouse. Earlsdon Park Village amenities are for use not only by residents, but also by local older people, residents’ families and volunteers.

As the charity’s first retirement village in its native Coventry, the village marks a milestone for Coventry-based ExtraCare which was established in the city in 1988 and now supports more than 4,400 older people in 31 housing developments across the region.

The benefits of ExtraCare’s approach have been underlined by recent independent research by Aston University that shows care costs are slashed by more than a third at the Charity’s villages while the health of residents soars. Read more at www.extracare.org.uk/research

This research played a role in ExtraCare winning the Outstanding Approach to Innovation award at the 2016 UK Housing Awards, which recognises innovative well-being and dementia services, the creation of cost savings and the delivery of better outcomes for people.

Cllr Faye Abbott, Cabinet Member for Adult Services at Coventry City Council, said: “It is so exciting to get to the opening day after seeing this fantastic development take shape over the last couple of years. We are always looking for new and innovative ways of making sure our older people are well-looked after. This partnership approach with ExtraCare and the Homes and Community Agency means residents can live independently in fantastic facilities, confident they have excellent care and support on hand.”

Find out about some of the residents moving to Earlsdon Park Village:

Roy and Margaret Seaton

Linda Earle

Interviews and case studies are available on request. Read more ExtraCare resident stories