Exceptional in extra care

William Davis Ltd has been awarded three multi-million pound Extra Care housing contracts in the past three years. That success is a testament to the exceptional experience it has established in this highly specialised area

With work well underway at its latest schemes, the Wolsey Building in Leicester and Russells Hall in Dudley, William Davis is continuing to build on a formidable reputation in the provision of extra care housing.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary, William Davis has been developing its expertise in the field of care homes, retirement developments, residential homes and supported living schemes over many years and the relatively new concept of ‘extra care’ housing combines elements from all these models, so it has plenty of experience to call upon.

With restricted timescales, budget constraints and in many cases, government targets to achieve, the company is very aware that clients need to be confident that they chose a competent contractor and often with millions of pounds of government funding at stake, confidence in the contractor’s experience is key to the delivery of a successful project. extra care housing, in essence offers a ‘lifestyle’ – providing purposebuilt accommodation with varying amounts of care and support.

The concept of extra care has extensive shared services and facilities; however it allows residents to retain their long term independence. the accommodation offers the option of an on-site care team, flexible care services and a range of facilities to encourage active, sociable and integrated living within a sustainable community.

“Although a complex brief with plenty of boxes to tick, we implement our tried and tested extra care delivery procedures from the outset,” says Martyn Tharratt, senior project co-ordinator. “That said, no two extra care schemes are the same and the ability to recognise and interpret the different requirements is essential.”

There is no better example of a successful extra care scheme tailored to a specific user group than the recently completed beacon centre for the blind in wolverhampton on behalf of bromford group and the charity. the £18 million state-of-the-art centre for the visually impaired, incorporates 71 two-bedroom extra care apartments, with communal facilities including a shop, hairdressers, gymnasium, large dining hall and bar, craft rooms, sensory gardens, landscaped gardens with greenhouse and even an outdoor dog run.

This, together with the 25,000 sq ft office and day centre for the charity clearly demonstrates the depth and breadth of William Davis’s experience in the provision of extra care housing.

“Consultation with residents, specialist designers and occupational therapists was central to the successful delivery of beacon centre for the blind, in order to obtain a first-hand understanding of what was required for that specific user group,” Tharratt said. “However it is just as important to be able to expertly analyse and understand the proposals for varying types of extra care schemes such as Russells Hall or the Wolsey Building. whilst the blue print may already be in place, the individual aspects of each scheme still need to be carefully considered, for instance, the £16 million development at Russells Hall in Dudley.”

The first of five extra care schemes to be delivered by midland heart under their strategic partnership with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, Russells Hall is set to become one of the most eco-friendly extra care developments in the region. with features including solar collectors to heat water, sun pipes to maximise natural daylight, a bio-diversity roof and glazed winter garden, Russells Hall with its contemporary design requires extensive input from the William Davis team.

The company works hand in hand with its clients, including the sales team, to assist in promoting the lifestyle and selling the facilities offered. This often takes the form of large consultation events, community engagement programmes and events hosted on site.

“We are sensitive to the ‘human’ aspect of any project,” Tharratt added. “To that end, we ensure we deliver comfortable, practical, and efficient accommodation and facilities for the users, many of whom are elderly, particularly vulnerable or require specific care, however we also consider the impact of the scheme within the wider community – fundamentally, we listen.

“And it isn’t just down to building new homes. it is often about preserving the heritage of a particular project site, as at the £10 million regeneration scheme at the wolsey building in Leicester on behalf of LHA-ASRA. this is proving to be one of the most interesting projects the company has ever undertaken.

“The original building features a sandstone cameo of cardinal wolsey, which is being retained and incorporated into the new development. the added complexities of retaining the cameo as well as providing 63 extra care apartments and 40 affordable new homes have been challenging. That said, our 75 years experience means we face the challenge head on to deliver efficient, practical solutions.”

As with Russells Hall and Beacon Centre for the Blind, the company’s in-house team has a high eco spec to consider at the Wolsey Building, with 13 per cent of the building’s energy requirements to be achieved from renewable sources, such as a central biomass boiler system. the design of the system and its incorporation into the building is carefully managed by William Davis, its specialist consultants and designated sub-contractors.

“Even though, in some cases, specialist contractors are required, William Davis directly employs its own highly skilled labour force,” Tharratt said. “This allows William Davis to guarantee the specialised workmanship required and gives the client additional assurances that we will produce an extra special, extra care facility.”

William Davis also provides training and employment initiatives for local craftsman as part of the delivery package for a particular project, for the duration of the build programmes.

Since the construction of William Davis’s first major ‘care home’ project, holloway house in Quorn, some 15 years ago, design briefs, funding criteria, legal requirements and methods of construction have changed dramatically but the company has adapted to and embraced the change by taking a balanced approach.

“The ability to be flexible and open-minded is a given but equally as important is the need for knowledge and expertise,” Tharratt said. “Value engineering is key to any construction project and when working on extra care projects with their many intrinsic elements, it is essential to establish and maintain cost-effective Ve procedures and processes throughout – our extensive experience enables us to know instinctively where efficiencies can be gained.”

With forecasts that the elderly population in the uK will grow dramatically over the next 20 years, providers of housing and services for the elderly are increasingly considering extra care housing as a way of replacing residential care and sheltered housing. the loughboroughbased contractor and developer knows only too well, that it takes a special type of builder to deliver these facilities – ‘on time’, ‘on spec’ and ‘on budget’.

“Clients need to be assured of our ability in all areas and stringent budgetary controls and processes are vital to instil absolute certainty for them to know they have made the right choice of contractor,” tharratt said. “we like to think we are ‘old school’ and traditional in our thoroughness yet pragmatic and innovative with our delivery – the best of both worlds.”