Living it up in the city
Retirees now want the buzz and bright lights of a metropolis, says Jane Slade
Slowing down is not on the agenda for many of today’s retirees. They eschew peace and quiet in favour of bright city lights, smart boutiques, classy restaurants and highbrow entertainment.
And developers cannot build new schemes fast enough.
Former model and sculptor gillian webb, 84, still loves shopping, which is why she moved to Bishopstoke Park in Eastleigh, near Southampton.
‘There’s a good TK Maxx in Eastleigh where i can buy designer dresses for my cruise holidays,’ she says. ‘There’s also the Harbour lights cinema in Southampton where they live-stream opera and ballet, so i am lucky to have so much on my doorstep.’
gillian modelled in Paris and new York in the Fifties before studying sculpture at the Royal College of Art. Two years ago, she bought a two-bedroom apartment at Anchor’s flagship retirement village, which has 91 one and twobedroom apartments as well as a 48-room care home.
A second phase of 73 properties is under way, with one-beds priced from £239,000.
Bristol Rovers season ticket holders wendy and Ray watson will be able to walk to the football club’s ground when they move into their two-bedroom apartment at Pegasuslife’s new development, The Vincent, due for completion in July 2018. wendy, 73, and retired teacher Ray, 68, are moving half a mile from their current home to be within walking distance of their favourite places in the city: Harvey nichols, the Everyman cinema, Bristol old Vic and waitrose.
wendy, who ran a marathon in 2013, says: ‘we can’t wait. The Vincent is in the perfect location; we won’t have to change doctor, dentist or church.’ or football club.
The Vincent, less than two miles from the heart of Bristol and walking distance from Clifton, will have 65 one and two-bed apartments priced from £371,950, as well as a restaurant, spa and gym.
‘There is a new generation of people who have lived or worked in cities for most, if not all, of their lives and don’t want to retire to the country,’ says Howard Phillips, CEo of Pegasuslife, which is building schemes in london, Croydon, Seaford, East Sussex, Cheltenham and Bath.
McCarthy & Stone also has developments planned in cities and towns, including Edinburgh, Birmingham, Portsmouth and Maidenhead, Berkshire.
GRAndMoTHER-
offive iona Parry moved from her fourbedroom house in the Cheshire village of Tattenhall to the Forest Court development in central Chester.
‘ Chester has so many great restaurants,’ she says. ‘it’s fantastic when the grandchildren come to stay, i don’t have to cook.’
living in town means that if iona has to stop driving, she won’t lose her independence.
‘it is a dated myth that everyone wants to move to the country or seaside as they get older,’ says nick Sanderson, CEo of luxury retirement developer Audley.
‘There is a growing trend towards cities among people in their later years who prioritise closeness to cultural amenities and want the buzz of urban life.’
Audley has urban schemes in leamington Spa and Edgbaston, and has just announced its first development in london, a £125 million village overlooking Clapham Common, which is set for completion in 2020.