Profile

By the early nineties he had created one of the first UK Care Villages. It offered a variety of properties for sale or rent, in a beautifully landscaped environment with care available from an integrated nursing home and domiciliary care team.

Keith developed a second Richmond Care Village in Nantwich, Cheshire. His "hands on" approach meant he involved himself in every aspect of the business from its development to the day-to-day running of the village.

In 2004 Keith sold 'Richmond Healthcare Development Ltd' to Barchester Care Homes. He went on to mastermind the development of a further four operational Richmond Villages with more in the pipeline.

Keith is now devoted to promoting the concept of the Care Village to a wider audience to meet the much needed demand for quality accommodation with care through his new company, English Care Villages.

Relevant Project Experience

1987 Kenilworth Manor Nursing Home. Provided a turnkey design and build and operating package for a Private Pension Fund based in Coventry.

1991 Bede Village, Bedworth. Developed one of the first UK Care Villages to combine a Nursing Home, Residential Home with leisure facilities and Assisted Living Units.

1995 Housing Design Awards Retirement Development – Bristol. This is the most prestigious award given for an innovative group of houses that mixed very exclusive family homes with luxury retirement bungalows.

1996 Nantwich. Developed and managed the operating Village. Introduced the concept of Close Care combined with the ethos of a luxury hotel food and beverage operation.

2001 Pinders Best Assisted Living Development – Nantwich, Cheshire. Key Industry award for a Care Village that combined the concept of a luxury Hotel with a Care Home. Seen as a market leader that introduced Redrow as a complimentary family house builder on the same site.

2007 Daily Mail Best Retirement Village – Painswick, Gloucestershire. This broke new ground in luxury. It reflected the style and ambience of a luxury cruise liner and pioneered the concept of a wellness suite that served the needs of older people.

2008 English Care Villages. ECV was formed to promote the Care Village concept to a much wider market. Access to this wider market was to be through local, regional and national house builders. ECV Partnerships are currently taking five Care Villages through the planning process. The operating model has been accepted by a number of leading Care Home operators.

2010 What House Awards – Letcombe Regis, Oxfordshire Keith was responsible for the design and layout, pushed the boundaries of retirement housing and demonstrated how good design can offer real choice and a better lifestyle after family life.

2010 ECV Partnerships Limited Formed ECV Partnerships Limited to support an expanding client base and offer a comprehensive business development service to landowners, developers, investors and operators.

2010 Over 50s Awards – Letcombe Regis, Oxfordshire This award recognized the contribution to the local community. It established a new Village Shop and opened up woodland walks along side the down land chalk stream and lakes. The restaurant and wellness suite are now an integral part of Letcombe Regis.

2010 UK Over 50s Awards – Most Progressive Thinker in the UK Over 50s Housing Market. This award recognizes the understanding of the needs of the next generation of older people. Retirement housing should be integrated with family homes and at the heart of communities. English Villages will move the agenda on again by working with the volume house builders to provide a lifestyle choice that does not exist in the UK today.

Profile

Jamie has over 20 years experience within the property industry, initially in the construction sector and more recently as a developer, having total responsibility for the completion of schemes. Having worked in both sectors, Jamie is able to fully understand the construction process when assessing the development model.

Having commenced his career in Surveying for a Building Contractor, he joined Galliford Try PLC in 2000 as a Senior Surveyor. Within 3 years he became General Manager and had full responsibility for a business unit overseeing a variety of projects and initiatives.

In 2005 Jamie joined Modus Properties working on major town and city centre regeneration projects across the Midlands and South West areas of the country.

In 2008 Jamie formed a Development Management Company focused on delivering mixed use projects for a variety of funds and landowners in a challenging financial market.

In 2009 Jamie commenced working with English Care Villages and recently formed ECV Partnerships Ltd. The business strategy is to work with Investors, Contractors and House Builders to develop care villages across the whole of the UK.

Relevant Project Experience

Turvey, Bedfordshire A proposed care village located on a brownfield site within a small conurbation in Bedfordshire. ECVP have recently submitted a planning application in a Joint Venture with the landowner on the 5.5 acre site for a Close Care Retirement Community. The development includes 64 Assisted Living Units over 3 phases together with the Village Core.

Barrow Gurney, Somerset A proposed care village located on a redundant Hospital, 5 miles south of Bristol. ECVP will be submitting a planning application on the 12 acre site for a Close Care Retirement Community including the development of 119 Assisted Living Units over 6 phases together with the Village Core and a Wellness Suite.

Waterside, Trowbridge A major Town Centre Mixed Use development with key anchor tenants and partnering approach with the Council, the HCA and SWRDA.

Jamie is able to use his experience in construction as the basis for understanding and delivering complex development projects, especially in the current market. His knowledge from working within Galliford Try will support effective decision making throughout the complete life cycle
of the development.

Profile

Neal has been involved within the property development industry for over 15 years working for a variety of private sector development companies including Wilson Bowden Developments and Modus Properties. Neal has been responsible for delivering complex mixed-use town centre regeneration projects within several towns across the UK including Harlow, Bishops Stortford and Leamington Spa.

Having spent the first two years of his working life in general practice surveying Neal joined Boots Properties in 1994 as Development Surveyor assisting the delivery of regeneration projects in Chorley, Market Harborough and Harrow. A secondment into the investment team widened the experience of acquisition and disposal of solus and
multi-let properties.

In 2000 Neal joined Wilson Bowden Developments as Development Manager working on major town centre regeneration projects in Harlow and Leamington Spa. These mixed use schemes involved retail, leisure, office and residential uses and were delivered from inception through to completion and onward sale over a 5-year period.

In 2005 Neal joined regeneration specialist Modus and opened a new Midlands office for them in Birmingham. Responsible for winning new business and building a delivery team the office was successful in progressing development projects in Trowbridge, Stafford and Swindon.

In 2008 Neal formed a Development Management consultancy business with a colleague focused on delivering mixed use projects on behalf of private and public sector landowners.

Having worked with English Care Villages since 2009 Neal formed ECV Partnerships Ltd with the co-Directors. The business strategy is to work with investors, land owners and care operators to promote and develop care villages across the UK.

Relevant Project Experience

Barrow Gurney, Bristol A proposed care village located on a site of a redundant Hospital, Working in collaboration with the land owner, investor and mezzanine funder ECVP will be submitting a planning application on the 12 acre site for a Close Care Retirement Community including the development of 119 Assisted Living Units over 6 phases together with the Village Core and a Wellness Suite.

Profile

David has provided consultancy and management services to owners and operators of nursing and residential care homes since leaving Christie & Co, business valuers and agents in 1990.

Projects have included full operational and financial management contracts; commissioning and marketing new developments; and appraisals for prospective purchasers as well as troubleshooting, throughout the UK, in both a corporate and single unit environment.

Clients have included major corporate operators, UK clearing banks, industry primary lenders and leading national and international accountants.

During the course of delivering these services, David has also co-owned and managed a number of care provider businesses including care homes, children’s homes, a domiciliary care agency and a healthcare centre.

Relevant Project Experience

Broughton Care Limited Whilst MD and joint owner of the company, The Broughtons Care Home won the City of Salford Independent and Voluntary Sector Partnerships Award 2007 for outstanding improvements to residents’ quality of life.

Angel Homecare Services Limited MD and owner of a Domiciliary Care Agency in Cheltenham delivering domiciliary care to the elderly and younger disabled for both social services and
self pay markets.

United Care Scott Murray, owned by David and a partner, was responsible for the operational management of the United Care portfolio of care homes which included clients with a
range of disabilities.

Paul Robinson Care Homes David was responsible for the operational and financial management of 5 care homes in Cheshire including one with Assisted Living apartments. The client group included a dementia unit and an EMI nursing home

Profile

Phil has over 10 years providing branding, marketing, online and promotional services for the care industry, specialising in marketing Care Villages.

Branding, marketing, website and advertising for the UK’s leading Care Village Operator. Design, advertising and internal marketing promotions for leading Care Home operators. Marketing services have including full advertising campaigns (TV, Radio, Press).

Phil also co-owns and manages a number of care training companies specialising in Trainer led, Nurse led and Specialist Dementia Programmes across the UK.

Relevant Project Experience

Continuing Care Retirement Communities Phil has managed and developed brands, creating a consistent brand style across a variety of media including all literature, web, advertising, and external signage. Also responsible for new and innovative promotional ideas for villages including the concept and production the Care Magazines.

High Quality Care Home Operators Developing Brands and creating new and interesting promotional concepts for all services. Creating templates for literature (including brochures, leaflets, mail drops, recipe cards) for over 220 care homes across the UK. Also responsible for managing logistics, internal promotions, eshots, social marketing and marketing for the
recruitment side.

Live-in Care Specialists Phil was responsible for branding development, company literature and online services. Helping the company grow into a national entity with a turnover of
more than £10m.

Assisted living Sector Phil rebranded an established business and devised a complete design package including press advertising and literature. This involved a series of focus groups and eventually rolled out across 11 homes.

Older people's housing and care provider Anchor is hunting for sites for 1,100 new retirement properties across the south of England.

The properties will be developed by 2015 and the organisation is now actively seeking sites on which to develop retirement villages, care homes and smaller extra-care properties.

The new developments will build on Anchor's successful Denham Garden Village, a multi-award winning retirement village in Buckinghamshire, and The Laureates, Anchor's newest development in Guiseley, near Leeds.

Villages will be home to around 150 people and will contain a combination of apartments or houses and a specialist care home. Key to the concept is the principle of a true village, not just in its architecture but in its lifestyle. Each will employ 80 to 100 people in full and part time roles. On a typical village, a 36-bed care home will be surrounded by a similar number of "close care" properties in which people will be able to access the same support available to those living in the care home. There will also be a further 100 "assisted living" properties, where people can buy in care should they need it.

Anchor Chief Executive Jane Ashcroft said: "With nearly one in five of us expected to reach 100, our ageing population provides real opportunities for forward-thinking organisations to develop groundbreaking housing and care. In a tough economic climate it will also provide a real boost to the jobs market."

Global real estate services provider Savills said in October 2009 that there was a need for significant growth in this sector with an immediate need for around 200,000 extra-care units nationally and further growth required due to a rapidly expanding elderly population.

Anchor is working with Keith Cockell, who formed English Villages two years ago to advise organisations on the care villages market, on finding sites, design direction and developing the village concept. The team are currently identifying sites across the south of England and the home counties.

Keith said: "I am looking forward to working with Anchor as we share the vision that the time has come to create exceptional homes and communities for older people in this country; communities that inspire and reward by giving a superb second phase of life."

For further information contact david.tobutt@anchor.org.uk or info@englishcarevillages.com

Keith Cockell to speak at Laing + Buisson conference on the 15th Feb

Download the brochure

Given that future Care Villages will be targeted at the 'Baby Boomers' I thought I would use an analogy that everyone would understand. In my time a Hoover was the generic name given to any kind of vacuum cleaner. This all changed when the Dyson came along. The Dyson was bag-less and a funky design, it quickly established itself as a replacement for the generic Hoover, at the same time this prompted other manufactures to reinforce their own brand and the merits of their design.

We are in the same dilemma with Care Villages, we need to describe the different products and establish strong well known brands that become known for what they are. In America, Australia and New Zealand the terminology is a 'Continuing Care Retirement Community' which does not exactly roll off the tongue but has come about because the Americans have a love of wordy descriptions. In England we use 'Care Village' to describe any development that has some form of care provision. Even a large Care Home with a small number of flats or bungalows alongside will be called a Care Village.

Over the next few years brands will emerge like the Dyson which will be understood by the market place for what they deliver, in the meanwhile the generic name Care Village does nothing to describe what is on offer.

The break-point in the concept comes when the operator also provides an onsite registered Care Home. The emerging operators are divided over the principle of providing an onsite Care Home. The only consistent, well known operator that provides a registered Care Home is 'Richmond Villages'. Another well know brand name 'Retirement Villages' is now incorporating a registered Care Home within their new developments. 'Audley', do not provide a registered Care Home within their retirement concept; instead they rely upon the provision of domiciliary care delivered by their own registered agency. Domiciliary care comes in two stages of registration, the provision of personal care and then the provision of nursing care. The domiciliary agency may not include the provision of nursing care which is vital for people to remain in their own homes.

To have or not to have a registered Care Home within a Care Village illustrates the great divide between operators. The operator trying to manage the different business activities can end up with being a Jack of all trades and master of none. The marketing and management of a registered Care Home providing nursing care requires a focused and dedicated management team that is not distracted by the glamour and marketing activities in connection with the wider Care Village. As with any business that is to be successful, every single component must be well designed and well delivered. The Care Village puts a number of demands on its management, from the provision of hotel services including leisure facilities to the marketing of the properties for sale or rent.

It is not the diversity of management resources that defines the decision to provide a registered Care Home or not, it is simply the emotional perception of future purchasers and the sometimes deeply held views of senior management. I remember discussing the Care Village concept with a leading figure in the Care Home industry some years back when he offered me a piece of advice. His advice was to choose a good quality location and build a Care Village on one side of the town then find another site on the far side of town for a Nursing Home. I think this told me more about the person, the quality of care he was providing and his consideration of older people more than anything else. Having said this, this sentiment remains strong in many organisations and only privately will they admit that they believe an onsite registered Care Home blights the sale of properties.

To go back to the terminology 'Continuing Care Retirement Community', for me this description implies that no matter what my future care needs will be I will be able to receive it if I live in this community including care in a Care Home. There are a number of reasons why a registered Care Home is the only appropriate setting for a person with failing health. I am of course talking about a Care Home established within a Care Village. The first reason is the very opposite to the fear and dread that many older people have at the thought of moving into a Nursing Home. An older person living in a Care Village would be able to receive high levels of domiciliary care in their own home, however there is no substitute for the immediate 'on call' nurse and continuous social interaction, not to mention the peace of mind, that comes with being in the Care Home.

The difference is that the resident already knows the care staff and can continue to benefit from seeing friends and neighbours as they have done for the last five to ten years. This seamless change makes the difference. At any point in time in a marriage or in a family, people are at different stages in their general health. Many people choose to have a partner whose health is rapidly failing cared for separately in the Care Home. The spouse or partner then retains some quality of life by living in their home nearby in the village.

Over the next few years each operator will establish with the public what they have on offer and just like Dyson, a brand which is known for its benefits. At the present time in this country you could categorise the industry into three groups, Retirement Properties which provide a setting for older people to live in but may not provide any care services. Care Villages where you would find a commitment to provide domiciliary care which may also include the provision of nursing care to high dependency residents living in their own homes. Then finally Continuing Care Retirement Communities which will provide not only domiciliary care delivered into people's own homes but the additional choice of an onsite Care Home which complements the needs of the villagers themselves and the community at large.

I will be writing a series of articles on these different concepts setting out the differences between Electrolux, Henry and Dyson. If you have a view as to a Continuing Care Retirement Community with a Care Home, or a Care Village without a Care Home or a Retirement Property with no care at all, I would be pleased if you would contact me at keith@englishcarevillages.com

Caring UK welcomes Keith Cockell

As a man who has dedicated more than 25 years to meeting the needs of retired people, Caring UK is pleased to welcome Keith Cockell as a regular columnist and commentator. Keith founded Richmond Villages in Nantwich in 1993. Sixteen years on and with a fifth village soon to open, his leadership has seen the company grow to become a successful national brand and an inspiration to others.

Since his departure last year, he intends to put his vast knowledge of Continuing Care Retirement Communities to good use by helping new developers to meet the rapidly increasing demand for accommodation with care. In the coming months he'll be taking an in-depth look at some of the UK's existing purpose-built retirement communities. His aim is to discover all that is good about them and see what lessons can be learnt to improve future projects.

Turning dreams into reality

My first involvement with the care industry came about almost by accident. Having enjoyed a successful career as an automotive designer, I had the chance to buy a large manor house in the Midlands. The idea was to develop it into independent dwellings, but that all changed when I met an investor who was looking to invest in nursing homes.

In spite of no previous experience in the sector, they asked me to stay on to design and manage the conversion into a nursing home. The project was and still is a great success. It also made me see the potential for a new approach to accommodation with care. The key was to look hard at how and where retired people would want to live.

The essential ingredients for a successful Retirement Village.

Richmond Villages undoubtedly succeeded because of the understanding that mental, physical and social activity are as important as desirable and appropriate housing. During the last five years my job has been to bring all the Richmond Villages together as a national brand. In September 2008, along with four other operators, we established The Association of Retirement Villages Operators UK (ARVOUK). Its aim is to increase the professionalism in the industry and promote understanding of a concept that is radically different from care homes.

ARVOUK believes that retirement villages integrate three core components:

The first component is housing. People want the comforts, security and privacy that comes with owning their own home and having their 'own front door'. Retirement villages should also be attractive places to live. When you get the reaction, 'I'd like to live in a place like this' you know you've got it right.

The second component is community. Each village should provide shared facilities such as restaurants, open spaces and social activities that enhance people's lifestyle.

The third vital component is access to flexible care and support that can be tailored to meet a person's changing needs, rather than the more rigid, traditional models. Nothing beats the feeling of security a person gets from knowing that domiciliary and nursing care is on hand at all times if necessary.

Taking a closer look.

Over the coming months I will be meeting with the CEOs of ARVOUK members and visiting various retirement villages. I also hope to encourage other operators to become members. My intention is to give a good and objective first impression of each village from the point of view of someone who regards aesthetics as important.

On each visit I will be joining the residents for lunch. A good midday experience is so important as it is often the only time people can easily meet up. Good food is, of course, central to that experience. I'll also be looking at the ways in which entertainment is provided and how much each village uses local entertainment as a way of interacting with the wider community. The one thing I freely acknowledge is that there can never be a manual on how to put the perfect society together as communities are always shaped by the nuances of the individuals who live there.

Time for a fresh approach.

To date, purpose built retirement villages have come about because in each instance, the company that conceived and developed them also operates them.

But when you think about it, why should a company whose core expertise is caring for the elderly also have the skills to locate a site, get planning permission, design and speculatively build housing and all the care facilities? Not to mention attracting the right investors. By undertaking the lot there is a real danger that a company becomes a jack of all trades and master of none.

My solution would be to split the whole process between three separate enterprises, namely the builder, the investor and the operator. They would co-operate with each other from the outset whilst being able to focus exclusively on what they do best. In other words, the quality builder would build, the experienced operator would operate and the canny investor would have a solid investment in bricks and mortar with a guaranteed rental income and growth of assets.

Established quality house builders such as Bloor, Charles Church or Redrow are already in the business of designing and building many categories of houses from starter homes and apartments to executive homes. Why not add purpose built retirement communities with a care centre to their list? In doing so, the all too common situation where a house builder needs to sell part of a larger site to a competitor might also be avoided.

They would design and build all the saleable residential properties in the retirement village based on the best of the existing models. But by continuation, they would also design and build the village centre, with its care home, restaurant and other facilities. The latter would be funded by the long term investor.

The third and final collaborator would be the operator. A company with a proven track record in the provision of first class care and care home management. They will have been involved in all aspects of the design and development and will then be able to take over operation of a 'ready-to-go' business.

Some people may consider that to have the Care Industry adopted by house builders is controversial. Radical even. But having lived every moment of every aspect of the creation of five award-winning retirement communities I really believe that this new approach will give rise to more such communities. It will also go a long way to help break down old prejudices. Given the growing demand, I can only hope that other key players will come round to my way of thinking.