1
News Release
23 May 2013 page 1 of 5
Launch date announced for Exeter’s first retirement village
Millbrook Village, Exeter, Devon
Award winning retirement village developer Urban Renaissance Villages Ltd (URV) is
launching the third of its luxury retirement villages next month as Exeter’s Millbrook
Village officially goes ‘on the market’ at a three-day launch event on 27, 28 and 29 June.
Millbrook Village is a first of its kind for the city, which is not currently home to any
other retirement villages. Located in a peaceful setting close to the river, within easy
reach of the city centre, the new £50 million development will provide a selection of
140 luxuriously appointed two- and three-bedroom apartments and cottages for the
over 55s. The properties are set within secure landscaped grounds and centred
around a private club house, Springbok Hall, featuring a restaurant, bar, pool, fitness
and health suite, library, medical centre and more.
Phase one of Millbrook Village will comprise 15 cottages, 27 apartments, the club
house and staff accommodation. The first residents are expected to move in during
spring 2014 and properties are available to buy off-plan, with prices starting from
£350,000.
The launch event on 27, 28 and 29 June will include an open house from 12pm until
2pm each day when guests are invited to drop in to get their first glimpse of the scale
model and find out in more detail about the active, independent lifestyle that Millbrook
Village offers the over 55s. Personal appointments will be available outside these
2
times and can be made by contacting property agents Wilkinson Grant & Co on 0844
8401441 or by emailing [email protected].
More about Millbrook Village The heritage
The Village is located in the former home of a local charity, the St Loyes Foundation,
which relocated several years ago leaving the site unoccupied. The team behind
Millbrook have taken inspiration from the charity, set up in 1937 by local
philanthropist Dame Audrey Charlotte Georgiana Buller, by naming various aspects
of the development after the foundation and its founder. For example, buyers can
choose to live in an apartment in Buller House or purchase a Georgiana cottage.
There’s even an Elizabeth cottage, named after Queen Elizabeth II who is a patron of
the charity. The newly created village roads will be named after the riverside wildlife
found in the area such as otter and heron, continuing the theme of reflecting the
site’s heritage and location in the fabric of the new development.
The club house: Springbok Hall
The centrepiece of the development, Springbok Hall, is being redeveloped from an
existing building on site, which is believed to have been named after Dame Buller’s
father, General Sir Redvers Buller, and his achievements in the Anglo-Zulu war, for
which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. The hall is being sympathetically extended
and refurbished into an exclusive residents’ club house using the finest quality
materials and finishes to emulate the feel of walking into a lavish hotel lobby. Set in
an elevated area of the Village before the ground gently slopes away to the river, the
delightful restaurant and inviting bar will boast panoramic views towards the rolling
Devon countryside, with the southwest facing aspect maximising the sense of natural
light.
As well as dining and enjoying a tipple, residents may choose to relax with a good
book in the cosy library and coffee lounge, enjoy a game of snooker in the games
room or even organise their own clubs and events in the spacious meeting room.
Residents of URV’s other award winning village, Bramshott Place in Liphook,
Hampshire, have organised everything from keep fit classes to cinema nights and a
full-time receptionist will be available to help coordinate bookings and make sure
things run smoothly.
For those residents looking to stay active, the club house will also be home to a
3
fabulous fitness suite, including an indoor swimming pool with sun terrace and a
private gym with the latest fitness equipment. There’s even a guest suite for visiting
family and friends.
The properties
All properties will be constructed and finished to the very highest of standards, using
premium quality materials and expert trades and craftspeople. Kitchens and
bathrooms will be fully fitted with elegant, high quality fixtures, and those who choose
to buy off-plan will have the chance to work with experienced interior designers to
personalise their new home.
Rooms are spacious and layouts are designed with residents’ lifestyles in mind,
drawing on years of experience in creating stylish, practical retirement homes. Even
down to the emergency help system, URV has taken care to ensure every detail
adds to the feel of luxury and quality. Gone are the intrusive bright red pull-down
cords, replaced instead by inconspicuous low-level switches.
Each home will be highly energy efficient, featuring an air source heat pumping
system providing underfloor heating and hot water, excellent insulation and double
glazing. This not only reduces environmental impact but also minimises energy costs.
Cottages enjoy their own glazed garden rooms and small garden plot, whilst the
owners of the apartments benefit from views over the beautifully landscaped
communal gardens.
The location
The Westcountry is one of the most desirable places in the UK to live, with the
perfect combination of bustling towns and cities blended with stunning moors,
enviable beaches and chocolate box villages for residents of Millbrook Village and
their guests to enjoy.
As a place to live, Exeter has long been viewed by its residents as one of the ‘best
kept’ secrets in the UK. However, the ‘secret’ is increasingly being recognised, with
highlights such as the eclectic mix of shops, cafes and restaurants in the £170 million
Princesshay shopping centre, a plethora of new hotels, an award winning recently
redeveloped museum and the relaxed waterfront bars and shopping on the historic
quay side catching many buyers’ eyes.
4
Despite evolving with impressive new developments, Exeter remains at heart a
historic city, with an imposing cathedral dating back to the 1400s, the remains of its
original Roman wall still providing an interesting attraction and many original Tudor
buildings lining its high street.
There aren’t many cities in the UK that are minutes away from some of the country’s
most famed beaches but also a short drive from the rugged beauty of Dartmoor
National Park. It also boasts an international airport and is only a couple of hours on
the train from London, with excellent motorway links to the rest of the country.
Exeter offers older residents a relaxed lifestyle in beautiful surroundings with a
unique blend of vibrant city life teamed with stunning countryside and coastlines
close by.
Details at a glance Properties: two- and three-bedroom cottages and apartments. Available off-plan,
first residents to move in spring 2014
Prices: from £350,000
Agents: Wilkinson Grant & Co, Exeter. T: 0844 8401441
Website: www.millbrookvillage.co.uk
Launch event: 27, 28 and 29 June – open house 12pm-2pm, personal appointments
outside these times
Address: Millbrook Village, Topsham Road, Exeter, Devon EX2 6EP
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
• Millbrook Village is a new development of luxury retirement living properties, close to the heart of the cathedral city of Exeter, Devon.
• It is being developed by the multi award winning Urban Renaissance Villages – a specialist developer of beautiful, high quality retirement villages in some of the UK’s most desirable locations. Other URV developments include: Durrants Village in Faygate, Horsham, West Sussex, Bramshott Place Village in Liphook, Hampshire, and Maudslay Park in Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire.
• Millbrook Village offers a choice of luxury two- and three-bedroom apartments and cottages finished to the highest standards throughout. It also features a wide selection of on-site hotel style facilities.
5
• The development is being marketed by Exeter based estate agency Wilkinson Grant & Co, which is the sole agent. Properties are available to buy-off plan.
• The first residents are expected to move in during the spring of 2014.
• For more information visit www.millbrookvillage.co.uk.
Media enquiries:
Sarah Newman/Gill Vosper at Absolute PR & Marketing [email protected]/[email protected] 013912 680740 A selection of images are available including exterior CGIs of Millbrook Village, an animated film showcasing the club house and interior photography of apartments and cottages from URV’s completed Bramshott Village.