Balfour Beatty commences work on £31m residential village

Balfour Beatty has started construction on a £31 million age-exclusive residential village in Exeter for Renaissance Villages Ltd and Helical Bar plc this week.

Millbrook Village will comprise a selection of luxury cottages and apartments for the over-55s as well as a residents’ clubhouse featuring a private restaurant, bar and swimming pool.

Work is now underway on the first phase of the development, which includes a selection of cottages and apartments as well as the clubhouse and staff accommodation.

Balfour Beatty is committed to supporting the communities it works in and 90% of the 120 construction roles on the project will be secured from the local area.

The project is designed to be highly sustainable. Each dwelling will have air-source heat pumps that will recover and recirculate heat from the development, minimising energy bills for the residents. All communal hard-standing areas will be created using recycled material from the former St Loye’s Foundation building. Local ecology has also been considered with a bat house installed to maintain the habitat they had in the previous buildings.

Iwan Jones, Managing Director of Renaissance Villages said: “It’s great to be able to get underway with the construction of what is a major long-term investment for us. Exeter is the third of our luxury villages and we’re very confident in the location and strength of the local property market in what is an improving but challenging economic climate.”

Martyn Osborne, Balfour Beatty Managing Director for Wales & West of England, said: “This is a prestigious scheme which will provide a high-class range of accommodation delivered over a four year period. This project builds on Balfour Beatty’s experience in the residential sector and we are committed to delivering this age-exclusive project to meet the needs of our customer and future residents.”  

The first phase of the properties will be ready for occupation in summer 2014.