Galliard Homes, one of London’s leading developers, Probitas Developments, a specialist in retirement living and O’Shea, a market-leading developer and contractor, have launched Shiplake Meadows – a new £50 million (GDV) six-acre highly sustainable integrated retirement village in Lower Shiplake which will provide high-quality homes with both on-site care and lifestyle amenities set in beautiful surroundings and located less than two miles from Henley-on-Thames.
Designed by award-winning architectural practice Nick Baker Architects, the new retirement village will deliver 65 new homes comprised of two- and three-bedroom apartments, including penthouses and two-to-three-bedroom cottages within a high-quality, assisted living village set amongst landscaped communal gardens and grounds. As well as delivering a class-leading residential offering, the new retirement village will include a village clubhouse containing a bistro, bar, gym/fitness suite, and wellbeing services, including on-site care services and a dedicated taxi service for residents to make use of.
Located off Reading Road (postcode: RG9 3DF), Shiplake Meadows is being marketed from a new on-site sales suite featuring a scale model of the development, wall graphics of the site plan for the new retirement village and images of the development. The interior design includes flooring, wallpaper and furniture that is indicative of the forthcoming show homes due to be launched later this year.
Phase One of the development includes the clubhouse, Orchard Cottages and apartment buildings Elm House and Woodside House, with a fully dressed Cottage and ground floor apartment within Woodside House available for viewing in September 2023, with first occupations from October 2023.
Shiplake Meadows is a unique development – the first Integrated Retirement Community (IRC) in South Oxfordshire that not only delivers class-leading properties but also integrates a wide range of social, wellness and care facilities and services on-site delivered by trusted local partners.
The design of the scheme combines premium design features and accommodation whilst using traditional design characteristics and materials of South Oxfordshire to create a ‘village feel’. Each home will have either extensive balconies, terraces, or private gardens, allowing the residents of the village to enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings and the landscaped gardens, which are complete with mature native trees and wildflowers.
Orchard Cottages provides five beautifully designed cottages set amongst a serene green landscape and mere moments from the clubhouse. The residential offering within Orchard Cottages includes a choice of semi-detached and terraced two/three-bedroom cottages, ranging from 1,421-1,448 sq ft in size, all with their own private front and rear gardens with patio. Each has private parking to the front for at least two cars.
Elm House comprises nine spaciously designed dual and triple aspect two- and three-bedroom apartments as well as three highly refined two-bedroom penthouses, with one of the penthouses providing an option for the 104 sq ft study to serve as a third double bedroom. The two-bedroom apartments range from 898 sq ft to 982 sq ft in size, the three-bedroom apartments range from 1,063 to 1,162 sq ft, and the penthouses range between 1,581 sq ft to 2,210 sq ft in size. Each of the ground-level apartments has a large private patio/garden space, whilst homes on the first and second level benefit from large class-leading balcony space. Large floor-to-ceiling windows allow for plenty of light within each apartment and open onto the patio and balcony areas, respectively.
Once the development is operational, the village services will be run by Shiplake Meadows Limited, which has been set up by Probitas. It has been key to Probitas to use local partners with a proven track record for high-quality service and a passion for customer service and care. Providers include Pavilion, an award-winning independent fine food company, delicatessen and cookery school located in the centre of Henley’s marketplace, which will provide flexible services for the development, including an on-site deli, offer options for event catering and freshly prepared, restaurant-quality food using local produce which can be enjoyed in the comfort of one’s own home or in the clubhouse dining room.
Home Instead, the appointed care provider for the village, offers a full range of personal care services from their local office, already serving over 1,000 nearby clients and achieving the highest client satisfaction rating of any Home Instead office in the UK in 2022. The flexible and tailored support services on offer range from companionship and home help to helping manage dementia at home with a team of fantastic and dedicated professionals.
Physiolistic is the site-based physiotherapy provider for weekly fitness classes and is able to offer private one-to-one fitness, physio or recovery sessions. Currently a leading provider in Henley-on-Thames for over 10 years, they are situated by the Rugby club and will provide a full range of wellness and physiotherapy services to residents. Also, with their association with the Dunedin Spire private hospital in Reading, they are able to offer both in and outpatient services to residents who may need to access a private GP, consultant, diagnosis or specialist clinical treatment at short notice.
ELM Group will provide the day-to-day estate management service. With 50 years of providing property services to residents, they are one of the oldest companies within their sector and are currently managing over 100 estates. ELM stands for Ethical Leasehold Management, and this is the foundation of their business of preparing and managing the annual service charge budget for residents in a wholly transparent and non-adversarial manner through open and clear communication with residents at all times. The ELM team, working alongside Probitas, will be the daily on-site presence to ensure the smooth running of the estate management services, working in tandem with the other key providers, Pavilion, Home Instead and Physiolistic.
Sustainability and low cost of ownership have been at the centre of the design of Shiplake Meadows, with an energy strategy that aims to deliver a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 50% reduction in energy costs for homeowners in the village compared to standard gas-fired homes.
There will be a taxi service provided by Chiltern Cars for residents who do not wish to drive short distances, 35 cycle bays and 86 car parking spaces, which are enabled to have an EV charger installed for those residents with electric vehicles. All properties to be delivered at the development are either dual or triple aspect, offering a new standard for retirement living, and are set within small groups of buildings that result in a highly distinctive and bespoke feel that mirrors the individuality and aspirations of owners.
The two-storey cottages have been designed in pairs to be inhabited by villagers who wish to downsize from larger family homes yet still desire spacious living. Each has an open-plan kitchen/living/dining area that opens onto the rear patio. All cottages have a private garden area at the front and rear of the property and private parking to the front or side of the house.
The clubhouse at the centre of the village will act as a communal social space where villagers and guests can come together to enjoy all the community has to offer. The building is styled on a traditional Oxfordshire barn, with dark timber cladding and grand ‘barn style’ doors leading to the clubhouse entrance.
On entry to the clubhouse, there will be a welcoming reception entrance which leads to a private dining room with a bar and a multi-purpose communal membership lounge which leads out onto the patio area where guests can enjoy refreshments. The northern end of the clubhouse will contain fitness and wellness facilities, including a state-of-the-art gym, studio space, care office, treatment rooms and changing facilities. The upper level of the clubhouse accommodates the staff facilities as well as an overnight full-sized apartment for residents’ families or guests to rent.
The landscape at Shiplake Meadows is key to the scheme, both merging with the surrounding countryside but also in continuing the quality of the living experience as people enter the village and residents use both their private and shared spaces in the estate. A diverse range of native trees will populate the village, along with attractive and wildlife-friendly flowerbeds and shrubbery. As well as the landscape gardens scattered throughout the development, the village will benefit from an orchard as well as a community vegetable garden.
Construction, undertaken in partnership with O’Shea, a market-leading developer and contractor, is set to be complete by March 2024.
Stephen Conway, Executive Chairman of Galliard Homes, said: “Galliard is delighted to enter into the senior living market to provide much needed high-quality homes and thoughtful lifestyle amenities to those in later life. Shiplake Meadows is set to be one of the finest retirement villages in the area, set in beautiful surroundings and with community at the heart of the development.”
Beatrix Lehnert, Director at Probitas Developments, added: “There is a lack of high-quality accommodation and services for the over 65’s in the market, and our aim is to deliver best-in-class homes, services and operations. It is important to us that the customer always comes first; creating ‘healthy homes’ for residents to continue to enjoy their lifestyle in high-quality, thoughtfully designed accommodation, with attention to detail, living in a like-minded community with access to communal facilities and tailored support where needed.”
Rory O’Connor, Managing Director at O’Shea, said: “O’Shea is proud to partner with Galliard and Probitas to bring high quality living solutions to the over 65 market, a market that is not currently being served by the current provisions. This is a great opportunity to build sustainable, physical and social communities to enhance residents’ lifestyles.”
Access to the clubhouse and showhomes will be available from September 2023. Prices for the homes within Phase One start from £595,000 for a two-bedroom apartment in Elm House, £625,000 for a two-bedroom apartment in Woodside House, and prices in Orchard Cottages start from £900,000 for a two-bedroom cottage. The sales suite is open on Tuesday to Saturday from 10.00am to 5.00pm. More information is available of the Shiplake Meadows website.
