Working with architects, Pozzoni and Adrian Dalby, a resolution to grant planning permission was secured from Broxbourne Borough Council for a 78 bed care home, as part of a retirement village, including 110 later living apartments in Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire.
 
The site is a vacant former horticultural nursery that was previously located within the Green Belt. A residential allocation was subsequently secured through the Local Plan, however, the client wanted to pursue a care home scheme as part of a retirement village creating a sense of place for the benefit of the local community, through the series of landscaped courtyards and gardens provided between the buildings.

After demonstrating a need for both care beds and this type of later living accommodation, the Council agreed to the proposed uses, including a new restaurant and gym that will be open to the public.

Successful negotiations with Broxbourne Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council resolved challenges around the proposed mix of uses, the scheme’s relationship with neighbouring development and highway and drainage complications. The Council also accepted the viability argument for the provision of no affordable housing in the scheme, subject to a late-stage review that would result in a commuted sum should there be any excess profit.