A £1.5 billion pipeline of construction for care home projects is set to boost the construction industry according to exclusive market research by Glenigan.
The survey has identified more than 300 care home projects which have been granted planning permission over the last two years. The average care home project is valued at just under £5 million.
Glenigan economics director Allan Wilén said: “There is a strong level of work coming through from the care home sector with projects approved across Britain.
“In the South East, alone a total of 55 projects have secured planning permission since 2020 and there are also sizeable pipelines of work in the East of England, the West Midlands and Yorkshire.”
Research by consultants Knight Frank found that in 2020 around 80 new care homes a year were being built. Glenigan’s research shows that figure could double if operators push ahead with the pipeline of approved projects and construction is starting on a number of new schemes.
Hallmark Care Homes is developing a number of projects according to Glenigan’s construction industry research. Work is underway on a £15 million care home at Odd Down in Bath (Project ID: 19282094) and a £20 million care home in Eastbourne (Project ID: 18448158).
Hallmark’s homes are built by sister company Savista Developments, whose chief executive officer Kevin Shaw said: “The care homes in Bath and Eastbourne are just two of an extensive pipeline of new sites that represent an exciting phase of expansion for Savista.”
The two companies are also planning a £20 million specialist dementia care home at Woodley in Berkshire (Project ID: 15264900) and have submitted a detailed planning application for the £30 million St Raphael’s care home at Bromley in Kent (Project ID: 15230176).
Tanglewood Care Homes is currently procuring a contractor to build a £9 million 66-bed care home at Beeston in Nottinghamshire (Project ID: 21139993) and has a number of other schemes in the pipeline. These range from a £6.4 million care home in Grimsby (Project ID: 21221135) to a £6 million scheme in Leicester (Project ID: 21243769).
Elsewhere, Ideal Care Homes expects to start construction this summer on a £5.7 million 66-bed care home at Royal Wootton Bassett (Project ID: 18124293). Ideal has also submitted plans for a similar-sized care home, set to cost around £6.9 million, at Chard in Somerset (Project ID: 22084347).
Plans for new homes to help people to continue to live independently on retirement have also bounced back strongly after a lull during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Plans for 2,651 retirement homes were included in detailed planning applications in 2021. This figure is below the pre-pandemic level but 83% up on the number of units in the pipeline in 2020.
One developer, Retirement Villages Development, has proposed plans to build 5,000 retirement units on 30 sites in various towns including Cambridge, Eastbourne, Chelmsford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Wilmslow and York (Project ID: 20387921)
While many care home projects may be smaller in value, there is a strong pipeline of residential work to cater for the older generation that will benefit the industry in the years ahead.
