Anchor, a later-life housing and care company, and McCarthy Stone, a developer and manager of retirement communities, have received planning permission from Birmingham City Council to redevelop a former Royal Works site in Sutton Coldfield.

It will deliver 137 one- and two-bedroom apartments, designed to meet the needs of an ageing population. Customers will be able to tailor the level of care they require to suit their personal circumstances and needs, with different tenure options to suit affordability. The development will have a gross development value of approximately £40 million.

The development will consist of two buildings, designed to form one cohesive retirement community, with shared facilities and landscaped gardens accessible for residents of both buildings. In addition to offering home ownership, 85 of the apartments will be provided as either social rent or shared ownership.

 The development will be the fifth retirement community that the two organisations have constructed. Together, they have developing more than 1,000 multi-tenure retirement properties across eight large scale retirement villages currently in the pipeline, with more to be added.

Katie Fisher, divisional managing director at McCarthy Stone, said: “Our proposals will help address the local demand for specialist retirement accommodation, providing greater choice for those in later-life whilst freeing up the wider housing market for families and first-time buyers further down the chain. We would like to thank local stakeholders and residents for their input and feedback throughout the planning process and we look forward to becoming a part of this community.” 

Leanne Taylor, land manager for Anchor, added: “The UKs population is ageing, and it is vital that a range of housing options are available to supports people’s needs and expectations as they grow older. The development in Sutton Coldfield will create high-quality, affordable accommodation for older people in the local community, ensuring that more people have homes where they love living in later life.”