Downsizer Apartments, Boundstone Road, Rowledge

Downsizer and Retirement homes.

This  proposal is for 11 new dwellings on the  site of a five-bedroom 1926 house with an in/out drive from Boundstone Road.

Typically downsizing in Rowledge used to mean moving to a bungalow. However, a lot of the original bungalows in Rowledge have been demolished to make way for larger houses or have been converted into larger two-storey dwellings. The price of land means that it is unlikely that any more will be built. We've identified that down-sizing isn’t just a case of moving down the housing ladder to a smaller house or flat. The new Down-sizers want something different, more attuned to their requirements, which isn’t readily available in the current housing market. The formal “retirement home” market is mainly aimed at forms of assisted living, whereas this particular need is for active retired people looking for easy independent living without the burden of high monthly service charges associated with retirement flats. The following is the outline brief for an ideal down-sizer independent home:

  •  Large living spaces all on one level, possibly open plan to living, kitchen, and dining spaces but with the option to divide the rooms if required.
  • Down-sizers have large furniture, books and favourite pieces that simply won’t fit into a small house or flat.  They want something quite exciting that offers a new, simpler, and less cluttered way of living. 
  • They want a high quality sunny outdoor space that links directly to the indoor living space through large glass doors to create a genuine indoor/ outdoor room experience with maximum convenience and ease of access.
  • The outdoor space should have a large paved area suitable for outdoor dining, relaxing and family gatherings They would still want a lawned garden for grand-children to play, family gatherings and room for flowers/ trees and shrubs. This need not be large but it should be a comfortable size.
  • A generous master bedroom suite with a wheelchair accessible bathroom/ shower-room. Even if they are completely able-bodied they’d want the assurance that they wouldn’t have to move if one of them became disabled.
  • Second good-sized guest bedroom, preferably with a bathroom attached or very nearby. 
  • A study which could become a third bedroom on occasions

 

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