The pioneering new £45 million Buckshaw Retirement Village at Chorley in Lancashire has reached the finals of a national design awards competition. Developed by Oakbridge Retirement Villages, Buckshaw Retirement Village has gained its finalist placing in the Best Village category of the prestigious Pinders Healthcare Design Awards. Buckshaw Retirement Village and two other finalists will now be visited by a judging panel of experts in healthcare, design, development and care home operation, and the national winners will be announced on April 2 at a luncheon and presentation at Lords cricket ground in London.
As a finalist, Buckshaw Retirement Village has received a £500 prize to be donated to charity. Buckshaw has nominated the Alzheimer’s Society, and if the retirement village is awarded the national prize the Alzheimer’s Society will then benefit by a further £1500.
Oakbridge Sales and Marketing Director Irene Heffernan said: “We are delighted that Buckshaw Retirement Village has reached the finals of the Pinders Healthcare Design Awards. This is testimony to the hard work of all the people involved in planning, developing and operating the retirement village and it also highlights the quality and innovative nature of the development.”
This news is particularly pleasing because it comes hard on the heels of Oakbridge gaining the UK’s first gold standard award for dementia friendly design for The Lodge dementia facility within Buckshaw Retirement Village,” she added. The gold standard has been awarded under a new accreditation scheme launched by the University of Stirling’s internationally-renowned Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) following pilot audits in Britain, the Republic of Ireland and Australia. As well as The Lodge, Buckshaw Retirement Village is made up of two other distinct communities.
The Court is for residents who are active and independent but like the idea of home ownership in a village community, and The Grange is for residents who need some support but don’t want to give up their independence and move into a care home. Irene added: “The Court and The Grange are setting new standards in retirement living – they offer custom-designed homes in a carefully planned environment in luxurious surroundings with fabulous facilities, excellent services and a professional and skilled team offering support whenever it’s needed. “Security and stress-free living are key themes at Buckshaw Retirement Village.
Residents have an emergency call system so they can be confident of a response, day or night. There is also CCTV within the grounds, and a Manager is on hand to deal with the day to day running of the village. All gardening and external maintenance is taken care of.”