Priory View

Dunstable, Central Bedfordshire Council

Description of Scheme

The scheme is an Extra Care Facility of 83 apartments in the centre of Dunstable.

It is envisaged that the building will form a hub for local older persons and the wider community to visit and enjoy the communal facilities. To this end, a treatment centre and cafe have been incorporated into the design along with a retail unit for the local community. The retail unit has been placed at the corner of the building adjacent to the cafe, providing a good visual link with the street.

The accommodation is split over a number of floors, varying between 3 and 5 storeys. All the communal accommodation has been located at the heart of the building, forming part of the main circulation routes, creating exciting and interesting areas and opportunities for communal interaction and activities on every level.

All the flats include a large entrance hall, living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom all in accordance with the principle of Lifetime Homes and with HCA DQS.

The corridors will be carefully designed to create interesting streets and each flat entrance door will be a traditional front door, painted individual colours. Flat kitchen windows look into these streets encouraging interaction between residents and staff. The streets are then broken up with colours (individual to each floor) and intimate multi purpose rooms, breaking the corridor length and introducing natural daylight to the circulation areas.

All flats are provided with private outdoor space, either a patio at ground floor or balconies on upper levels. The balconies are all enclosed on three sides, providing shelter and the northern balconies will incorporate glass screens.

In accordance with design for Dementia, all corridors end in an area where is it possible to sit or perhaps read, with views out. The health and beauty room has been positioned next to the main entrance and cafe allowing easy access for residents and the local community.

All the communal spaces have been designed so that they are flexible and can be closed off for use by local groups who could be invited to use these spaces to provide additional income. Much of the circulation space within the hub is shared with communal space to use the areas more efficiently.

As well as the more formal communal areas, smaller more intimate spaces have been provided around the building for use as quiet rooms, internet rooms, hobby rooms, reading room etc. All these spaces will be multi-purpose and can be used as the residents choose.

The flats on the third floor open out onto a central roof garden and would serve as a self contained dementia unit with secure wandering garden space, whilst maintaining clear links with the rest of the building - thus avoiding stigmatisation.

The redevelopment of this brownfield site aims to reuse the existing utility infrastructure at the site, and continue to support existing local services by promoting the efficient use of land within existing developments to create a sustainable community. By taking this approach the scheme prevents further loss of the countryside to development by maximising inner town development on a brownfield site.

Where possible, materials incorporated into the construction will be from environmentally sustainable sources. All materials will be recyclable wherever possible and economically viable to address the whole life cycle of the building.

The development will use high levels of thermal insulation to reduce energy requirements and heating appliances will be selected to have low emission levels to exceed the requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations and SAP calculations. Subject to an investigation by an energy specialist a Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP) could be suitable or PV panels and/or air source heat pumps could be installed on the flat roofs. Plant room space and access to roofs have all been provided to ensure safe maintenance access.

The roof gardens and other flat roof areas can be finished in sedum planting to help reduce rainwater runoff and increase biodiversity of the site. Other water saving measures such as flow restrictor, aerated taps, dual flush toilets and water butts will also be incorporated into the design.

In an effort to encourage the use of more sustainable modes of transport, secure cycle storage for bicycles is provided on the site for the use of both staff and residents. There will also be cycle stands adjacent to the main entrance for visitors and staff.

Biodiversity will be encouraged by planting native species and where possible the retention of existing trees and planting. The new planting will seek to soften the boundary and to enhance the appearance of adjacent areas.

The new building will be constructed in accordance with the requirements of the Building Regulations Part M and Lifetime Homes.

A HAPPI comparison has been undertaken, which shows how the design meets the objectives of the HAPPI recommendations and how the design provides flexible space for future adaptations or installation of assistive technologies. This flexibility in the design ensures that the building can be suitable for a range of client groups now and in the future.

Where Is It?

Located at the edge of Dunstable Town Centre, there is a mix of commercial and residential buildings dating from different periods. To the east of the site is a large Sainsbury's Superstore. A guided busway has recently been opened, with a stop directly in front of the site.

Proximity

There are 2 GP surgeries within 200m of the scheme, a superstore at the edge of the site, a public house directly opposite, leisure facilities such as Dunstable swimming pool, cultural amenities like the Grove theatre and Grove Park, and the Town Centre itself (all within 1km of the site).

Relevant Local Strategy

The Central Bedfordshire Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) supports the move from reliance on residential care to a model which better supports independence and reablement, recognising that more Extra Care Housing is required to achieve this objective.

Care Services

There will be a 24 hour care and support service provided on-site.

Facilities

All the communal accommodation has been located at the heart of the building, forming part of the main circulation routes, creating exciting and interesting areas and opportunities for communal interaction and activities on every level.

Communal facilities provided within the proposed building include a dining room opening onto the garden, a café, treatment rooms, a lounge on the first floor overlooking the dining area and gardens and further sitting areas on upper levels which have access to the roof gardens.

All the communal spaces have been designed so that they are flexible and can be closed off for use by local groups who could be invited to use these spaces to provide additional income. Much of the circulation space within the hub is shared with communal space to use the areas more efficiently.

As well as the more formal communal areas, smaller more intimate spaces have been provided around the building for use as quiet rooms, internet rooms, hobby rooms, reading room etc. All these spaces will be multi-purpose and can be used as the residents choose.

A treatment centre and cafe have been incorporated into the design along with a retail unit. The treatment centre could be used for a range of NHS clinics such as memory, falls and stroke. Furthermore, the scheme will provide local employment opportunities during both the construction and operational phases.

The main garden has been designed to be overlooked by as many flats as possible along with the majority of the communal facilities. The paths have been laid out to ensure there are no dead ends and the planting types and raised level planters will be specially designed with older persons in mind. Aromatic planting will be provided to highlight specific areas.

As well as the main gardens, there are 2 further roof gardens which also enable natural light to permeate the central hub.

The new development provides 42no. Parking spaces, 5 no. fully-accessible parking spaces, and a mini-bus parking space which is located adjacent to the main entrance door. A scooter store is also provided at the main entrance.

Designated wheelchair user / disabled parking bays have been provided next to the main entrance of the Extra Care flats and the retail unit. A wheelchair accessible WC has been provided on every floor of the building and can be easily accessed from the communal areas. All flats are provided with accessible wet rooms and a bathing spa is provided on every level of the building.

All floors within the building will have a level and even finish throughout and surface materials will be chosen that do not impede the use of a wheelchair. The building has been designed so that it is fully accessible throughout and 2no. fully compliant Part M lifts have been provided to ensure full independent access to the upper storeys of the building.

Care and support services will be provided on-site, 24 hours a day. The care element of the scheme is still to be designed, in consultation with Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

As part of the development process we are working with Quantum Care, who are delivering a 75 bed nursing/residential care scheme on an adjacent site, in the same timeframe as this scheme. We are investigating the possibility for day opportunities to be provided as complimentary services for people with dementia at both the new Quantum Care Home and our Extra Care scheme. As partners we see the benefits of being able to flexibly manage complex dementia and low level problems, across both sites, using the facilities and specialist staff resource that the Care Home and Extra Care scheme provide.

Address

Priory View,
Church Street,
Dunstable,
Bedfordshire,
LU5 4HU.

Scheme Location Map