Care sector joint venture development company Mercroft Estates is bringing two elderly care home schemes to the market offering 72 elderly care beds in Sherford, Devon and 71 beds in Market Drayton, Northeast Shropshire.

Mercroft Estates is a joint venture between specialist care developers Mercian Group and Barcroft Estates.

The proposed homes will offer spacious bedrooms with en suite wet rooms and a range of communal spaces such as lounges, private dining rooms, a café bar, cinema/activity room and a professional hair and beauty salon, set within secure landscaped gardens. The design of the buildings allows for air source heat pumps, photovoltaics, and electric vehicle charging points costs.

Mercroft Estates has obtaining outline planning permission for both schemes. A reserved matters application has been submitted on the Market Drayton scheme, and is due to be submitted on the Sherford scheme in the coming weeks.

Chris Towers, director at Mercroft Estates and Mercian Group, said: “We are making excellent progress on our two premier care home schemes in Sherford and Market Drayton, which, in turn, will bring much-needed modern care facilities and new local jobs to their respective areas. Mercian Group is pleased to partner with Barcroft Estates on these and other joint venture care projects in the pipeline and look forward to sharing more details as plans progress.”

Andy Barton, director at Mercroft Estates and Barcroft Estates, commented: “Our joint venture as Mercroft Estates brings together our considerable combined experience and strengths across the whole development process, from site acquisition to project delivery, and is reflected in the pipeline of high-quality bespoke care home schemes that we are now bringing forward.”

Healthcare real estate agent Portunus Associates is the agent for both schemes. Its director Bernard Wynne said: “There is an identified shortfall in high-quality care beds in these two locations which these best in class developments will help to redress.”