Homes that last a lifetime

As we grow older our homes need to adapt with us, whether that means widening doorways, extending bathrooms or improving access. The cost of these adaptations can total thousands, unless of course you are one of the new homeowners at Keepmoat’s Brearley Forge development, which has been built with life’s hurdles in mind.

The development offers house hunters the unique opportunity to stay in the home they brought their children up in or simply purchase for retirement – with no need to worry about building work, further structural adaptions or costly moving fees.

Built to meet demand for adaptable homes, the 142 two, three and four bedroom lifetime homes boast spacious rooms suitable for wheelchair users, the ability to incorporate a lift if homeowners require it in the future and walls that can easily be removed to create new doorways.

With no need to move as your circumstances change, these homes could save house hunters thousands in stamp duty, legal fees and mortgage costs.

This is not the only surprising thing about the homes developed by the Sheffield Housing Company (SHC), a partnership between Sheffield City Council, Keepmoat and Great Places Housing Group.

To show potential buyers just how adaptable these properties are, Keepmoat has installed a lift in the downstairs cupboard of its three bed Loxley show home.

Keepmoat's New Build Managing Director, Mark Knight, said: “As the UK attempts to cope with the demands of an ageing population, builders need to adapt to create new layouts and house types.

“These new lifetime homes in Sheffield are unique in the fact that buyers have an opportunity to remain in their properties as they age or their health circumstances change, with few adaptations needed.”

In recent research, Sheffield City Council found that the size of the 90+ age group in the city has grown by 29% since 2001 to 4,300* and estimate that by 2027 the number of people aged 80 years and over will have increased by a third.**

Mark Knight added: “We think lifetime homes have a big part to play in the future of housing in Sheffield, as the number of people over 80 living in the city rises and the cost of moving increases.”

Tom Fenton, Project Director with Sheffield Housing Company, said: “This is a really positive step which the Housing Company is taking with its partners to recognise the changing landscape of housing need and to respond by building in cost effective adaptability from the outset.

“Life is the most unpredictable thing and you never know when your needs may change and so we've catered for most conceivable eventualities, yet none of this is immediately apparent when you enter the homes, which is what we set out to achieve.

“What we hope people will notice is the incredible amount of space which each property offers and the quality to which our contractor partner, Keepmoat, has built them.”

All homes at Brearley Forge in the Parson Cross area of Sheffield are built to Lifetime Home compliance standards. Developed in the early 1990s by a group of housing experts, lifetime homes are ordinary homes incorporating 16 design criteria to allow to properties adapt with you as life takes its toll. 

Within the development there are also 36 mobility homes available and a further 14 homes which meet the Wheelchair Housing Design Guide.

With 116 lifetime homes at Norfolk Park, another development being delivered by the partnership in Arbourthorne, Sheffield house hunters need never move again. 

What's more, as a wide range of eco technology has also been used in designing the homes, which are being built to the Government's Code for Sustainable Homes levels 3 to 6, home owners will also see a significant saving on their energy bills. 

The 142-home development at Brearley Forge is SHC's first ever development and is currently in the first phase. With plans to build 2,300 new homes across the city over the next 15 years, work has also started on the development of 116 homes at Cutler's View on the Norfolk Park site, off Park Spring Drive, and 47 properties at Shirecliffe.

These schemes will bring much needed new housing to the area and help stimulate the local economy with labour initiatives, training schemes and support for small, medium and community enterprises.

House prices at Brearley Forge range from £85,596 on the Help to Buy scheme for a two bedroom Sheaf home to £100,796 on the Help to Buy scheme for a three bedroom Ellesmere, both of which are lifetime homes. 

Help to Buy is the Government's financial assistance scheme offering buyers who have saved a 5% deposit the chance to take advantage of a five-year interest free loan covering 20% of the value of the property. The remaining 75% of the property's value will be funded through a mortgage, which Keepmoat can help buyers to arrange.

The high quality, sustainable and energy efficient homes have been architecturally designed to the highest standard and are light and spacious, with private gardens and parking.

For more information or to make an advanced reservation on your dream home, please visit Keepmoat's sales office at Brearley Forge, Falstaff Crescent, Sheffield, S5 8DD between 10.00am and 5.00pm Thursday to Monday.  Alternatively, please call Keepmoat's home sales executive on 0114 299 6396 or visit www.keepmoat.com.