Botanical Place, West Byfleet

Two acre Urban Retirement Development providing 199 high quality homes

Retirement Group Villages’ (RVG) first urban retirement village in the UK. Designed by PRP, the retirement-led development challenges the traditional high-street model by placing later-living housing above commercial units to better support the local economy.

RVG chief executive Will Bax said: “New generations of older people will prize independence, security and community connections more than any other. Increasingly they are looking for a lifestyle choice that promotes independent living and keeps them fit and active for longer. The current options for people looking to downsize are not good enough. We want to change that by putting older people back at the heart of our communities and building homes that enable them to live rich, connected lives safe in the knowledge that support is available when, but not before, they need it.”

The £110 million project will see a 1960s office block and shopping precinct in West Byfleet replaced with a mixed-use scheme to provide 199 one-bed and two-bed apartments for both sale and rental with top class amenities including a wellness centre, with a new public realm featuring an attractive pedestrianised square enclosed by retail, leisure and a new library and public car park. The design incorporates a number of beautifully landscaped outdoor spaces, such as podium gardens and roof terraces, where people can safely sit and socialise all year round. A number of units for food, beverage and independent retail providers, as well as a wellbeing and therapy centre, complete the existing offerings nearby.

MNP are working hard to drive structural efficiency in the eight storey building, where continuity of vertical structure is challenged by the opposing demands of the overlaid space planning of car parking, retail and residential uses. We are also meeting the stringent demands of surface water management, with outflow from the completed development designed to be attenuated using a combination of sustainable urban drainage components.  We have drastically reduced the surface water runoff rate discharging in to the public sewer system, which reduces the risk of sewer flooding. Certain measures have been introduced to ensure the quality of the surface water runoff is in line with best practice guidance and a betterment on existing. Features including petrol interceptors in the lower ground car park, blue roof public square, and permeable paving all help toward capturing hydrocarbons and prevent them from entering the piped system.

The scheme has achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating and is designed to be net zero over the whole village and operational life span, which is a first in the UK for a later living development.

Completion is due in 2024.