Contractor appointed to build luxury retirement village with its own spa near Leeds

Once complete, Audley Scarcroft Park, near Leeds, will be home to 22 cottages and 106 two-bedroom apartments as well as a restaurant, health spa with hydrotherapy pool, gym and wellness studio.

This project will be the third site on which Audley Group has partnered with GRAHAM.

Preparatory groundwork began on the site last year, including the demolition of the 70,000 sq ft 1970s office block, and the work now begins on the construction of 18 new buildings and start the restoration of the grade two-listed Scarcroft Lodge.

On completion, Scarcroft Lodge, built in 1830, will be home to the Audley Club which will provide property owners and the local community with a restaurant, health spa with hydrotherapy pool, gym and wellness studio.

The retirement village will also offer delivery of care to both owners and the local community through Audley Care, Audley’s stand-alone Care Quality Commission-registered care provider.

The start of the construction comes after Fortwell Capital financed a £52.1m loan facility to the joint venture (JV) between Audley Group and Schroders Capital’s UK Retirement Living Fund (ReLF) advised by Octopus Real Estate, to support the development of Scarcroft Park. The village will be the fourth village planned through the joint venture agreement.

Philip Rolfe, development director at Audley Group, said: “The demand for integrated retirement communities is higher than ever so we are delighted to work with GRAHAM again.”

He added: “The pandemic has brought the need for these types of villages to the fore; where property owners can maintain independence while also having a community and the option of care and wellbeing facilities on the doorstep.

“We cannot wait to see the village take shape over the coming months and watch the restoration of the beautiful Scarcroft Lodge take place.”

Jonathan Hall, managing director at GRAHAM, said: “It’s great to have added another retirement living village of this nature to our portfolio with the Audley Group.

“The close collaboration with Audley and the design team throughout this journey from early design to contract execution has been another success story for (us).”