Do you know of a site for Anchor's next development?

In line with our growth strategy and vision for the future, Anchor are seeking land to expand our brand of retirement living developments to meet the changing aspirations of older people.

We are interested in hearing from landowners, developers and site agents who may have suitable land in our priority areas the south of England or south midlands for our next development.

Our site requirements

We are looking for sites for affordable housing that:

• Accommodate between 50-100 homes
• Provide a minimum of 1.5 acres for development
• Are in prominent locations
• Are close to communities with shops, facilities and public transport nearby.
• Are within residential suburban, urban and city/town locations
• Have a local population of more than 20,000 within three miles
• Are in the 80 areas we have identified as our development priorities (this can be discussed in more detail with our land team)
• For Older Person's Shared Ownership (OPSO), are where local house values are more than £350 per square foot

Our key design parameters

Wherever possible we will be compliant with the HAPPI principles (Housing our Ageing Population Panel for Innovation) – which are:

• Space and flexibility
• Daylight in the home and in shared spaces
• Balconies and outdoor space
• Adaptability and ‘care ready’ design
• Positive use of circulation space
• Shared facilities and ‘hubs’
• Plants, trees, and the natural environment
• Energy efficient and sustainable in design
• Storage for belongings and bicycles
• External shared surfaces and ‘home zones’

In addition we will focus on:

• Provision of informal communal spaces to encourage socialising and provide space for activities
• To simplify the management arrangements at our sites, we will build separate cores for different tenures. This will make service charge calculation and building management simpler. The communal areas will be accessible by all tenures and there will be no difference in specification in the communal spaces for each core.
• Our homes will be dementia friendly, without looking institutional
• They will be environmentally sustainable, meeting a minimum average SAP rating of 87 and increasing in line with our Environmental Sustainability and Net Zero Carbon Strategy to achieve net zero by 2050
• We will use standardised Anchor design guides to ensure all standards are met and there is consistency in our approach. This will drive efficiency of design and reduce the whole life costs of our assets and the cost to residents

We will design buildings in accordance with these principles but with efficient net to gross ratios. Our design brief focuses on efficiency of design to reduce construction and whole life costs of the buildings in the programme and to maximise sale margins whilst maintaining our agreed standards.

We will apply for planning permission under a C3 use class rather than C2 unless the site is truly for the provision of Extra Care. C2 use is defined as accommodation with an element of care for people who need it whilst C3 is single person or family housing only. This will likely incur an affordable housing provision under s106. We would hope to mitigate against most s106 requirements if a development was fully affordable.

Our development priority areas

Key areas of the country we are interested in include:

• Leeds
• Liverpool
• Manchester
• Newcastle/Gateshead
• East Midlands
• Essex
• North and West Kent 
• Hampshire
• Buckinghamshire
• Bristol and surrounds
• South Yorkshire

In London, our priority areas are:

• Hillingdon Harrow 
• Barnet 
• Enfield 
• Haringey 
• Hackney 
• Redbridge
• Havering
• Waltham Forest 
• Barking & Dagenham

Why we should work together

• 50 years of experience 
• Professional developers
• Financially strong with sustainable cashflow
• Quick decision makers

Well established, experienced and professional

Managing 54,000 homes across almost 1,700 sites, and operating in over 85% of England’s local councils, we are the country’s largest provider of specialist housing and care for people in later life.

Financially strong and excitingly ambitious 

We are financially strong with significant cash reserves available for immediate and long-term site acquisitions. 

Our robust financial position, combined with our experience and strong leadership, enable us to act quickly and decisively on land acquisition. 

Over the next 8 years we are creating 3,200 homes and have approval for a sustained programme of site acquisitions. We’re a big operator and we’re getting even bigger, at pace. 

We build high quality homes with onsite services that enrich local communities

Our portfolio of innovative retirement developments demonstrates our commitment to meeting the changing aspirations of older people.

We are highly skilled at delivering large scale, high quality developments that become thriving communities of like-minded people, and create a wealth of jobs for the local area.

Proudly not-for-profit

As we are a proudly a not-for-profit charitable organisation, we able to reinvest the money we make into our retirement properties and care homes, to continually raise standards and ensure we provide the high-quality services our customers want and expect.

The changing needs of our ageing society mean demand for specialist housing and care is strong and growing across all price points. We’re keen to work with a range of partners to meet that demand and to create more accessible housing for older people. 

Through our development programme we anticipate delivering an average of at least 500 homes a year over a rolling 10-year period.

As a not-for-profit housing association with many decades of experience of providing affordable homes for older people, we’re pleased to be able to shift to a stronger focus on building affordable and social rent homes where people can continue to enjoy later life

Oliver Boundy, Anchor Executive Director, Development

Fees

We will pay introduction fees where a transaction materialises from an introduction, as long as the agent is not retained by the landowner or owns the site.

If you are a land owner or site agent and you would like to discuss selling your land to Anchor, please email us at [email protected].