Former Government Civil Service College to be redeveloped as retirement village
The former site of the Government’s Civil Service College is to be redeveloped as a retirement village, it has been announced.
It follows an agreement to sell the 19,500 square metre Sunningdale Park in Berkshire to Berkeley Homes and Audley Retirement in 2016 as part of the Government’s efforts to reduce the size of its estate.
The site includes the neo-Georgian Northcote House, used as a training centre for civil servants until 2012, which will be restored as part of the new development.
It is expected that the village will provide 103 apartments for people over the age of 55, with the development of 168 new homes on the site.
Cabinet Office minister Lord Agnew said the restoration of Northcote House will be of benefit to the local community for “generations to come”.
“This is a concrete example of how reducing the size of the Government estate can both generate money for vital public services and provide much-needed new homes,” he said.
“The restoration of the listed building at the heart of the development and opening up of its surrounding parkland for use by the public will also benefit the local community for generations to come.”
Berkeley Group chairman Tony Pidgley CBE said: “We are delighted to be moving ahead with this exciting project and look forward to working with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and local people to create a fantastic community at Sunningdale Park, alongside a beautiful new 42-acre public park for everyone to enjoy.”
Nick Sanderson, chief executive of the Audley Group, added: “This site presents a unique opportunity to create an aspirational mixed-use development to serve the whole community.
“The demand for high-quality retirement living options, with a holistic approach to housing, care and health, continues to grow and we’re proud to be leading the way.”
The Government said that a total of 339 former government buildings have been sold in the last year, bringing in £2.1 billion for the public purse.
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