Birchgrove, the UK’s leading provider of rented retirement homes, and Hybr, the UK’s leading student letting platform, today announce an industry-first intergenerational living scheme which will see students and key workers live alongside retirees in the same purpose-built, privately rented retirement development.

Ayrton House is a new 60 apartment rental retirement community in Mill Hill, North London. When launched in October this year, 16 apartments across the third and fourth floors will be offered exclusively to trainee doctors and nurses from the local hospital, university post-graduates and graduate scheme students.

The pioneering scheme has been designed to generate a vibrant community by harnessing the benefits of intergenerational living, with several pieces of research highlighting how the model is physically and mentally beneficial for both the young and elderly.

A 2019 UCL study highlighted how increased social contact for elderly people is associated with a lower risk of developing dementia, while an Ageing Research study has highlighted how intergenerational living benefits the elderly by giving them a greater sense of purpose and combatting loneliness, in turn leading to a greater life expectancy.

Further research has also demonstrated how younger people benefit from living with elderly people – by enabling them to gain a deeper understanding of the older generation, and increasing their tolerance, empathy and understanding.

The students will live at Ayrton House on short-term tenancies running until June 2025, sharing communal facilities with the development’s retirees – including full access to the gym and the same subsidised rates in the restaurant. Furthermore, the rent on the 16 student units will be approximately 50% of market value. The project therefore means that students will have access to affordable, high-quality accommodation at a time when nearly two thirds of all students are struggling to pay their rent.

At the end of the tenancies in June 2025, the 16 student units will be vacated and restored to first use state, before being let to retirees.

Ayrton House is Birchgrove’s third development in the capital, and the ninth in their portfolio. The £36m development is the centrepiece of “Ridgeway Views” residential scheme, a 47 acre, 528 home project in Mill Hill’s conservation area, and will offer residents a restaurant, club room, licensed bar and wellness suite, as well as landscaped gardens.

For over 80 years the historic art deco National Institute for Medical Research, designed by the original Wembley Stadium architect Max Ayrton, was located on the site; the new development pays testament to Ayrton’s original design both in name and by reproducing the original building’s iconic green copper roof.

 Honor Barratt, Chief Executive, Birchgrove said:

“Traditionally, intergenerational living took the form of generations of the same family residing together in a single household. Today, we are pioneering a new model: one that brings different generations together within the same purpose-built housing development. It’s a unique approach, one that we’re hugely excited about, and that we believe will really benefit both young and elderly residents alike.”

Hannah Chappatte, Founder, Hybr said:

“We’re breaking down stereotypes and breaking the mould of traditional housing! Honor and I saw an opportunity to address the two loneliest subsections of societies – the under 25s and the over 70s. We’re tackling the housing crisis for students (where students need more available housing options) while finding a solution to the severe loneliness amongst seniors.

“The seniors support the younger people by making them feel like they have a purpose and familial presence, and seniors get to be around the young to create a more upbeat environment: fostering connections that enrich lives and reduce loneliness. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a real win, win for those that buy into the concept.”

The post Birchgrove and Hybr Launch First of its Kind Intergenerational Living first appeared on Property Insider.

The company is transforming the 380-acre former Filton Airfield into a sustainable new mixed-use neighbourhood for Bristol. Over the next twenty years, this new city district – known as Brabazon – will grow to include thousands of new homes, creative workspaces and the largest new urban public park in the South West for 50 years.

The new neighbourhood will be connected to Bristol and beyond by every form of sustainable transport. The MetroBus will stop at Brabazon and both the University of the West of England (UWE) and University of Bristol. The UWE campus is 1.5 mile walk or cycle away along dedicated bike paths and pedestrian routes. And a new railway station will serve Bristol Temple Meads – adjacent to the University of Bristol’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus – in less than 15 minutes.

The student accommodation at Brabazon consists of 1,514 bedrooms, located across four mansion-style buildings on the southern boundary of Brabazon, close to the new railway station.

Designed by leading local architects Stride Treglown, the attractive mansion blocks will have the space students want, both to socialise and to study. Separate bedrooms are arranged in clusters around communal spaces that will balance studying with a rich social experience.

Inside, there will be dining areas and karaoke rooms, a gaming suite and gym, as well as shared studies and quiet working areas. Outside, the landscaped courtyards and green spaces include exercise areas and even a basketball court as well as south-facing gardens.

The project is designed to inspire the next generation of engineers, designers and inventors and attract the best young talent to Bristol. The city’s world-class universities and diverse student population help give Bristol its unique energy and edge. But at present, a lack of dedicated student accommodation risks resulting in large numbers of HMOs that can upset the balance of some neighbourhoods.

When the new student accommodation at Brabazon opens in time for the 2026-7 academic year, it will provide an inclusive place to live that is conducive to learning and be part of a sustainable solution to the challenges posed by the housing shortage elsewhere in the city.

Sebastian Loyn, Planning and Development Director, YTL Developments comments:

“Brabazon is designed to live up to the pioneering legacy of the former Filton Airfield and inspire the next generation. New purpose-built student accommodation is essential to our vision to create a thriving, diverse new neighbourhood for Bristol.

“When the student accommodation completes, approximately 400 private homes will also be occupied, giving a total of almost 2,000 new residents from all generations by 2026-7.

“This represents a critical mass.

“The new residents will facilitate the arrival of a new breed of cafes, shops and restaurants.

“They will ensure the new public transport services – both the MetroBus and new train station – become sustainable and reliable options for the whole community.

“Alongside the existing world-leading engineering cluster, the new residents at Brabazon will accelerate the transformation of North Bristol, ensuring it remains a place of opportunity and drives local prosperity for the next 100 years.”

Subscribe to the Neighbourhood Newsletter for Brabazon to receive updates as they are announced: www.brabazon.co.uk/newsletter

The post Permission Secured for 1,514 Student Beds at Brabazon, Bristol first appeared on Property Insider.

Birchgrove, the UK’s leading provider of rented retirement homes, has announced that two of its three communities are now at full occupancy and operating Ready Lists as demand for rented retirement homes continues to soar, far outstripping supply. 

Queensgate Apartments in Sidcup, which comprises of 74 one, two and three bed apartments, is now at over 98% occupancy, while Woodbank Apartments in Woking, which comprises of 51 one and two bed units, is at 96% occupancy. The occupancy rates represent a significant landmark for operator Birchgrove following M&G’s £69m acquisition of the two sites in January 2022. 

As a result of the full occupancy, both sites are now operating a Ready List – a waiting list of retirees looking to rent a unit once they become available, having already registered interest and undertaken a financial assessment.  

The Ready Lists represent another important milestone for Birchgrove, given older people renting in retirement was largely unheard of in the mid-market sector until Birchgrove introduced the model to the UK in 2017. Many of those on the Ready Lists have lived in Woking and Sidcup their whole life, and are looking to downsize from their family home into rental assisted living accommodation that is more flexible and better suited to their needs. 

According to the English Housing Survey, the number of pensioners in rented accommodation is set to double to over 1m in the next decade. With demand for rented retirement accommodation already far outstripping supply, Birchgrove has invested in a further six sites across the South-East – with three communities under construction and now available for rental off-plan, and a further three London sites acquired. 

Honor Barratt, Chief Executive, Birchgrove said: 

“Every day in 2024, 1,000 people in the UK will turn 80. In ten years’ time, Birchgrove will have built 1,000 units – so enough for one days increase in need, or 0.1% of the more than one million retirees predicted to want to rent by then. 

“We’re delighted to have demonstrated that the mid-market rental model works. We’re thrilled to have acquired nine sites in six years. And we’re proud to be changing older people’s lives for the better, by helping them to live more flexibly. But with two of our three operating communities already at full occupancy, the sector requires far greater investment, development and ambition to meet this surging demand.”   

The post Birchgrove Communities – Rental in-Retirement Demand Soars  first appeared on Property Insider.

• Homes England has either sold, placed on the market, or plans to place on the market 1,181 acres of public land for the purposes of residential development soon.
  
• Although Homes England hasn’t estimated the number of homes to be built on all plots, they have a total of 10,836 homes.
  
• It is estimated that these will provide homing for 26,006 residents and could bring as many as 13,436 additional cars to regions across England.
  
• Local authorities including South Cambridgeshire, Welwyn Hatfield, Breckland, Mid Sussex, and Doncaster account for 62% of the land being made available to developers.
  
• Local authorities including Preston, Central Bedfordshire, Isle of Wight, Basingstoke and Deane, and Gosport only account for 0.22% of the land being made available to developers.
  
• There is currently no public land earmarked in local authorities such as Southend-on-Sea, Rochdale, Basildon, Liverpool, and Northumberland.
  
• 49% of the land is in East England, where the average house price is 5% below the national average and a typical monthly mortgage payment would be £1,206.

You can read the full report here.

The post Over 477 Hectares of Public Land Earmarked for Housing in England first appeared on Property Insider.

Affordable housing company St Arthur Homes has bought the 32 ultra-low carbon, Modern Method of Construction (MMC) homes on the hillside on the site of Kitchener Barracks in Chatham, Kent.

The military base, which dates back to 1757, was re-named in 1929 in honour of WWI Field Marshall Herbert Kitchener – later Earl Kitchener – and is one of the oldest military bases in Medway.

Together agreed the multi-million pound loan with for-profit housing provider St Arthur Homes to buy the sustainable factory-made apartments, built by modular construction group TopHat.

More than two thirds of the affordable properties, aimed at first time buyers and available under shared ownership, have already been sold. The remaining apartments attracting a “huge amount” of interest, a spokesperson for St Arthur Homes said.

Alex Bodie, Director of Social Housing at Together, said: “The popularity of this development is not surprising at a time when first time buyers or young couples are crying out for high-quality, affordable places to live.

“We have been St Arthur Homes’ finance partner on four previous schemes and have been consistently impressed with their vision to provide much-needed affordable housing in the areas where they’re most needed.

“Kitchener Barracks is an innovative and sustainable development and we’re proud that our finance has been used to meet St Arthur’s ambitions.”

Positioned on top of the hill with views over the River Medway, Kitchener Barracks is the second oldest military site in the area, it was most recently used as accommodation for the Royal School of Military Engineering.

St Arthur Homes is selling its one-bedroom apartments for between £205,000 and £212,000 and its two-bedroom for between £290,000 and £297,000.

Under the shared ownership scheme, buyers will be able to purchase a percentage of the property while paying rent to the housing association on the remainder of its market value. They will be able to buy a greater share in the future– known as ‘staircasing’ – so that they eventually own the property outright.

Costa Ghioules, Chief Financial Officer at St Arthur Homes, said: “The first tenants have already started moving in and there is a huge amount of interest in the remaining homes, so they are selling quickly”.

“This is the fifth transaction of ours that has been supported by Together, which has provided loans totalling £11.4m for us to deliver 76 shared ownership homes, which are affordable for first time buyers and young families allowing them to take their first steps onto the property ladder.”

Award-winning TopHat’s modular homes are digitally designed and built in the group’s 140,000sqft advanced manufacturing facility in Foston, Derbyshire and they are the greenest new homes being built at scale in the UK today. Ultra-low carbon to build, every apartment benefits from solar power provision and high specification insulation ensuring that they are also low-carbon, low-energy and low-cost to run.

Andrew Shepherd, Managing Director of TopHat said: “We are incredibly proud of the beautiful, green new homes we have built at Kitchener Barracks.  Our homes are designed to be exceptionally energy efficient to run to benefit the people living in them as well as looking great inside and out and being ultra-low carbon to build.”

The post Ultra-Low Carbon Kent Homes ‘Selling Quickly’ After Social Housing Provider Secures £4.9m Funding first appeared on Property Insider.

Working alongside the experienced regional house builders recognised and chosen for their reputation for building high-quality homes, construction carried out by the trio at Welborne is set to commence early 2024. 

A nationally significant development comprising 6,000 homes, Welborne is located between the South Downs National Park and the Hampshire Coast, just North of Fareham and is set to be a Garden Village for the twenty-first century. Pairing the traditional architecture of this unique corner of England with a layer of modern technology that will ensure a more sustainable, future-proof way of life across the thousand acres of Welborne, the aim is to create exciting new levels of modern sustainable community.

Commenting on the joint venture Graham Flint, Managing Director of Pye Homes said: “We’re really proud to be appointed by the Buckland Group for this partnership. The plans for Welborne truly reflect our commitment to sustainability and core principles to deliver quality housing solutions which local communities can be proud of now, and for future generations. 

“We are particularly excited about some of the innovations that the Welborne project offers such as the ground source heat network system that will heat our houses, which will reportedly be twice as efficient as air source technology, using considerably less energy and saving more carbon as a result.”

John Beresford, Managing Director of Buckland Development Ltd said: “At Welborne we have formed partnerships with a new kind of business model where Buckland shares in the risk and reward with our house build chosen partners. The three partnerships we have formed won’t pay for the land until the homes are sold which means that smaller, quality driven builders are able to build on schemes that would have normally been reserved for large volume builder’s companies. In essence, we’ve designed a financial structure that enables the high-quality craft builder to construct on a large development such as Welborne. This approach is groundbreaking and future residents of Welborne will reap the benefits for years to come.”

Inspired by the English Garden City movement of one hundred years ago and are still thriving today, on completion the Welborne development will provide 6,000 homes with shops, schools, workplaces, healthcare and open spaces in 14 neighbourhoods. 

Formed in 1927 and based in Oxford, Pye Homes Blenheim has built up a wealth of experience with successful developments in many counties including Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire and West Sussex. The company currently has developments at Church Farm (Radley), Temple Gate (Marcham), Park View (Woodstock) and is building new homes at Woodgate Road (Woodgate) and Tuckwell Green (Kempsford).

To find out more about Pye Homes please visit, www.pyehomes.co.uk/  and for more information on Welborne visit https://www.welborne.co.uk

The post Pye Homes Announces Partnership to Deliver One of the Largest Housing Developments in the UK first appeared on Property Insider.

Originally conceived with the idea of bringing style, design and functionality to small spaces, each home is designed individually for each client. It’s this bespoke approach and personal touch that make Minor Homes a home builder and not a house builder.

Founder of Minor Homes, Ross Clarke comments: “Our vision for Minor Homes is to really offer a legitimate alternative to traditional housing. For those looking to lessen their impact on climate and the environment. Our homes are designed beautifully, with functionality at the core – allowing owners to focus on what’s important to them, be that living wild, reducing their carbon footprint or simply buying the home they live in.”

Inherent in the Tiny House Movement is sustainability – requiring less resources, accumulating less ‘stuff’ and living within one’s means. This focus on sustainability is carried throughout the build process, with high quality local materials being used, exceptional standards of building practices in terms of insulation and ventilation to require less energy to run your home and ultimately less waste. 

The Minor Homes Ethos:

• Provide beautifully designed and built tiny houses to the U.K & Europe
• Build with environmentally friendly, low carbon products wherever possible
• Work with groups of people to explore how we can deliver tiny home communities in the UK
• Continually expand our knowledge of best practice and tiny living 

With Tiny House schemes now being trialled at different locations in the UK, this movement is only set to grow.  https://www.tinyhousecommunitybristol.org/our-projects

Ross continues: “One of the main drivers (and focus of our brand identity) is the sense of freedom associated with ‘TinyLiving’.  This could be financial freedom in terms of being mortgage free, the need to work less hours, living in and close to nature, having a real focus on outside space as part of your living space.  House prices, mortgages and rent are at an all-time high and sadly the lack of growth on people’s income hasn’t kept pace with these increases. This has meant it has never been more difficult to get on the housing ladder. The fact that there is a recession looming has also contributed to a feeling of uncertainty in doing so. 

We are excited to offer another option for people looking to live outside the box.” 

The post The Tiny House Movement Is On The Rise first appeared on Property Insider.

Try our quick quiz to find out if you’re investing in property for the right reasons….

* Would you like an investment that is virtually guaranteed to appreciate?

Yes, values have been slow to appreciate over the last year or two compared to previously but historically they have always risen in the long term. (Factors like a surplus of demand over supply and the cyclical nature of the property market will always see to that.) It’s not a matter of if the property you invest in this year will be worth more, but when.

* Would you like a monthly income?

Property will earn you rent each and every month in addition to the capital appreciation. And this monthly income is guaranteed year after year as long as your property is occupied.

* Do you have some cash to invest?

Property investment works best for those who have some cash to start with. This way, it’s easier to raise more money to invest in more property and you also benefit from leverage.

* Are you looking for tax efficiency?

There are ways of buying, owning or selling property that reduce your tax liability and can in some cases allow you to legally avoid paying tax altogether! Ask any good tax/financial adviser and they’ll be glad to explain the methods that will work for you. (You also get your rent before the taxman gets his hands on it not after – always nice!)

* Can you think medium-long term?

Property investments tend to work best when thought of as a medium-long term investment. That way, you can benefit from the cyclical nature of the market – jump in when prices are lower and jump out when they rise.

* Do you want a tangible investment?

This is probably one of the most compelling reasons for getting involved in property ever. In some countries property is called real estate for this very reason – it really is ‘real’! You can see, visit and touch your investment. Even use it yourself if you ever need to.

Property isn’t a paper investment that could easily vanish in a future financial crisis. It can’t easily be stolen by a conman or cyber crook.

* Do you want an ‘interesting’ investment?

Buying, renting and selling property can be addictive once you get involved! You can choose the property you want to buy, renovate it, get involved with tenants and collect the rent if you like. (And yet, if you’re not in the slightest bit interested it can be a totally hands off investment too.)

* Are you wary of the alternatives?

Things like stocks and shares, pensions or even keeping your cash in the bank. Any sensible investor will spread their investments of course. But there’s definitely a place for owning real, tangible assets as part of any sensible investment strategy.

How did you score? Like anything else investing in property needs to be carefully thought through. But if you can answer ‘YES’ to all or most of these questions then property is more than likely an investment you should consider.

The post Should You Invest In Property: Try This Self Test! first appeared on Property Insider.

Over the last decade or so, buy to let has become the method of choice for many property investors. However, in a climate where buy to let seems to be becoming less attractive by the month, now might be a very good time to consider what the next big property opportunity might be.

Could the next property opportunity be, not buy to let, but property development? Here are some reasons why Insider thinks property development could be the next property investment opportunity investors should consider:

* Development offers an opportunity to add value – in a way that buy to let doesn’t necessarily do.

* Demand for new residential property is only going one way – up – thanks to the rising population on top of an existing shortage of supply. As a property developer you have a stake in the potentially very lucrative business of creating more supply.

* Finance costs and availability. Traditionally, finance for property development has been harder to obtain. Whilst still not easy it is probably easier than it has ever been, with more options available to borrowers.

Property developers can now access a whole host of crowdfunding opportunities to help them fund their developments.

Plus, even with likely impending interest rate rises, finance costs for development projects are likely to stay low for the foreseeable future – especially bearing in mind that development projects tend to be shorter term investments.

* Construction costs generally rise at a slower rate than the rise in property prices. In other words, even where labour and materials costs are rising, the property being constructed will rise in value faster.

* A buoyant economy should stimulate demand and create more ‘up and coming’ areas. Up and coming areas afford investors an opportunity to benefit from the general development of an area, as well as from the development of their project.

* Government policy is currently positive in favour of new development. For example, policies such as planning simplification, planning in principle and green belt use are developer friendly.

* There may be tax advantages to exploit. Development can still allow the property investor to access a range of tax advantages. Advantages which, which seem to be under threat in the buy to let sector. (Professional advice advisable in order to access tax advantages.)

* There are lots of properties available for development in most areas. While residential stock at good prices is in short supply in most places redundant industrial and commercial premises, for example, are plentiful in many locations.

* Property for development is, in many cases, still cheap to buy into and still offers good value.

* Newly developed property usually sells or lets at a premium.

* Development offers good prospects for capital appreciation. Compare this to buy to let, where prospects for capital appreciation in most areas are now quite modest. Well planned development offers the shrewd developer many opportunities to add value in the short term well in excess of any likely capital appreciation due to property price rises.

* Developers still enjoy a broadly positive image, and their activities are welcomed and even incentivised in some cases. Contrast this with buy to let investors who are increasingly being blamed (wrongly of course) for the nation’s property woes.

* Property development gives you options – always desirable in any investment.

You can sell your completed development project for a capital gain or, alternatively, add it to your portfolio as a buy to let. Developing a property as a buy to let can help you exploit the supply-demand equation – and also help you achieve impressive yields compared to simply buying and letting a property as is.

We hope you found this Property Insider article useful. While you’re here, why not look at what else Property Insider can do for property professionals and investors.

The post Could property development be the new buy to let? first appeared on Property Insider.

1. Buy wisely. Buy as cheaply as possible, preferably below market value where possible. Experienced investors are likely to make as much from buying at the lowest possible price as from renovating.

2. Location is essential, as with any property purchase. You can renovate the property – you can’t renovate the area. As the old saying goes – look for the worst house in the best street.

3. Have a clear objective in mind before you buy. Are you renovating to rent, renovating to sell – or even renovating for your own occupation?

4. If renovating to rent – assess the property as a buy to let investment rather than a renovation.

5. If renovating to sell – consider who your most likely end buyer is and renovate accordingly. Is your likely buyer a family, a downsizer or a buy to let landlord for example?

6. Estimate renovation costs accurately, after obtaining accurate current estimates for building materials and labour costs. Then set a realistic budget and stick to it.

7. Never set an arbitrary budget, then try to shoehorn renovation costs into that.

8. Allow for the cost of finance. Renovation finance is likely to be short term finance and so can be more expensive than a standard mortgage.

9. Time is likely to be one of your greatest expenses. Overrunning on a renovation can be expensive in terms of higher renovation costs, higher finance costs and fluctuations in capital/rental value in the meantime. Estimate a reasonable timescale for the project.

10. Decide in advance whether you will do any of the renovation yourself, or hire others. Bear in mind that handling some or all of the renovation work often works out as or more expensive than hiring others rather than cheaper!

11. Factor your own time and effort into the costs of the project. This includes your time in managing the project.

12. Look for ways to add value. Adding value is a process by which you add more to the value of a property than it actually costs to provide.

13. The number one way of adding value is normally to add …. space. The more expensive the area the more value you can add by adding space, since value added will rise at a faster rate than construction costs.

14. Ensure that the standard of renovation is in keeping with the eventual standard and likely value of the finished property. For example, high end renovation will not necessarily add its cost to the value of a low end property. Low end renovation may even reduce the value of a high end property.

15. Calculate ‘before’ and ‘after’ values accurately. Be aware – over the last decade or so many renovators have made most (or even all) of their profit on renovation projects due to a rise in prevailing property prices rather than due to their renovation work as such. This might not always be the case in future.

Look at actual selling prices of similar property in the same area and take professional advice from local agents on values.

For more news, strategies and ideas on making money from property keep checking back with Property Insider.

The post 15 important factors to consider when choosing a property renovation project first appeared on Property Insider.