Frequently asked questions

Integrated retirement communities are designed to uphold flexibility, independence and wellbeing for people aged over 65. With a range of excellent facilities onsite and help and support on hand if and when needed, residents can enjoy peace of mind about the future. The facilities provided within the community are open and integrated with the wider community, allowing the wider community to make use of them as well.

At a retirement community, you have the option to buy or rent, with part buy part rent and rent to buy options for added flexibility. Plus, family and friends are free to stay, in the community’s guest suites, as and when they like.

1. One and two-bed retirement homes with the option for extra care and support, as prioritised in the neighbourhood plan. Circa 150 homes will be delivered in the form of a retirement community.
2. New ‘starter’ homes for first-time buyers in the form of two-bed flats on a subsidised market sale basis. This offering will provide 22 homes to young families looking to get on the property ladder and will be in accordance with the First Homes tenure. People who live locally, or have a connection to the area, can be prioritised to take on these homes.
3. New country park for community use, functioning as 22+ acre parkland this will provide a new opportunity for outdoor recreation. It will be protected to remain as public parkland in perpetuity.
4. A range of publicly accessible amenities within the scheme such as a restaurant, bar, wellness offering, and an open landscape for all to enjoy.
5. New connections to the surrounding area with walkable traffic-free access and pathways.
6. Larger family homes in the form of 10 self-build properties. This provides local people with the opportunity to design and procure their own home.

There will be homes both for rent and for sale.

People aged 65 and over (including couples where one person is younger than 65) will be welcome to make the community their home. An integrated retirement community is not a care home, and will be attractive to people who want to live independently but with the ease of life and reassurance that comes from having amenities and services close at hand including care and support when needed.

People choose us as their home at a variety of ages for a range of reasons, but having done so really enjoy being able to continue to live life as they choose whilst enjoying all the village offers and many say they wish they’d moved sooner. Whether they want to stay active within the community, continue paid or voluntary work, spend more time with their families, put their feet-up or all of the above, we’ll be there to help make it easy and enjoyable.

Our proposals include the creation of 22 new ‘starter homes’ in Windlesham, which will be priced so that they fall within the government’s First Home category. The government’s website explains that specifically, First Homes are discounted market sale units which:

a) must be discounted by a minimum of 30% against the market value;

b) are sold to a person or persons meeting the First Homes eligibility criteria (see below);

c) on their first sale, will have a restriction registered on the title at HM Land Registry to ensure this discount (as a percentage of current market value) and certain other restrictions are passed on at each subsequent title transfer; and,

d) after the discount has been applied, the first sale must be at a price no higher than £250,000 (or £420,000 in Greater London).

You can find out more about government’s criteria for what qualifies as a starter home here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/first-homes#first-homes-eligibility-criteria

Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace" (SANG) is an area designed to mitigate the impact of development on protected natural areas, particularly for the purpose of allowing recreational access.

When new homes or infrastructure is planned in or near areas with protected natural habitats, it may cause concern about the potential impact on the environment. SANG is one way to ensure that the environment is not negatively affected, by providing an alternative space for recreational use.

SANG aims to protect and preserve areas with ecological importance, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or other designated natural habitats. The goal is to prevent excessive human activity in areas that could disturb wildlife habitats. By directing recreational activities to designated alternative green spaces, we aim to strike a balance between development and environmental conservation.

Windlesham’s Local Plan is a document created by the local parish council to present the policies they believe would benefit the local community, including the kind of development and housing they would like to see. In the Local Plan, it is specified that:

“New dwellings should be split between retirement and assisted living units and homes for young people and young families.”

Our proposals address this need, and include the creation of 160 retirement and assisted living units, as well as 22 starter homes to provide housing for young people and young families.

We have now submitted an outline application to Surrey Heath Borough Council. The public is invited to comment on this ahead of the Council’s decision on the application. The outline application is only the first step in the planning process. After this, a detailed application, known as the Reserved Matters application, will be submitted. There will be a full community engagement programme ahead this.

An outline application offers Surrey Heath’s planning officers and elected members the opportunity to scrutinise the general parameters of the proposed development. Outline application considers the ‘bare bones’, such as the heights, bulk and massing and access points. Once approved, all subsequent designs must conform to these parameters, i.e. fit within the outlines set out in the outline application. The subsequent application, called Reserved Matters, will show the specific details. For example, materials, design details and the floor plans as well as operational matters such as the criteria for the self-build plots and the requirements that apply to the affordable homes for first-time buyers.

Yes. Feedback received during our community engagement programme showed strong support for a GP centre. Many of the respondents who came forward during our first phase of engagement spoke about the need for additional primary care in the area.

No, far from it. The number of new homes included in the application, whether those with extra care for older people or the affordable, first-time buyer homes or the family homes that will be created on the self-build plots, will not significantly increase the number of new people living in the catchment area. However, our research and the analysis done by Dr Davis and his team at the Lightwater GP surgery, shows that there is a need for increase capacity in primary care.

If consented, the new GP centre will offer up to ten consulting rooms so that, in addition to GP surgeries, a whole range of wellness and other health services can be offered to the community.

Yes, absolutely. One reason for submitting an outline application at this stage is that it gives us more flexibility in deciding the designs and operational features across the whole site. A separate planning application will be made that will include the detailed design; this is known as the Reserved Matters application. We will work with the wider community to ensure public involvement in the process.

The GP centre will benefit from a separate Reserved Matters application with a distinct stakeholder and community engagement programme to ensure that the considerations specific to a primary healthcare centre are properly included.