News: Carling Property Group to offer senior housing with a difference as elderly population booms

Dundee property and investment firm Carling Property Group is addressing the needs of a rapidly growing sector of seniors: those who want housing that’s community-friendly and practical, but still stylish.

Carling Property Group wants to build eight homes for over-55s in the Angus village of Inverkeilor: six one-bedroomed and two two-bedroomed properties. Plans submitted last week to Angus Council are for new-build terraced one-storey homes on half an acre of land behind the former Chance Inn on Main Road. CPG won planning approval last November to convert the former inn into seven affordable housing apartments.

New Chance Inn Court, designed to promote upscale community living for seniors, will be for sale. They will include: wheelchair accessibility; the latest in thermal insulation; covered front porches; parking spaces; a communal courtyard; and gardens to the front and back of the properties.

Graeme Carling, co-founder of Carling Property Group, commented:

“As people live longer, what we’re seeing is a changing market among seniors.  They want practicality but they also want luxury. They’re choosing where and how they’d like to live. Inverkeilor is a perfect location for these types of properties, which will feature the latest in materials and designs.

“This development, bang in the centre of the village, is aimed at people from the village and surrounding areas who want to remain in Inverkeilor but also want to enjoy the convenience and community benefits of senior housing.”

Funding for the proposed £1m development – covering all seven apartments and eight senior citizen homes – will come from a combination of private European investors and bank loans.

The rapidly growing Carling Property Group won an award last year for Most Outstanding Affordable Housing Provider in the UK at the UK Over 50s Housing Awards 2015. The company has a high level of tenants aged over 50 in its properties, but this is the first time it has planned a development exclusively for seniors.

The move comes as Scotland’s elderly population is on the rise. The number of households headed by people aged 65 and over is expected to increase by almost 54% by 2037, and the number of households headed by someone aged 85 and over is projected to more than double, according to Government statistics*.

Carling Property Group, run by husband and wife Graeme and Leanne Carling, owns and manages 200 rental properties all over Scotland, with most in the Dundee and Arbroath area. The company is on course to increase their portfolio to 1,000 properties within the next five years.

As well as the Inverkeilor project, CPG is putting the finishing touches to a conversion of the former Bank of Scotland on Brothock Bridge, Arbroath into seven upscale apartments. These will be available for sale in the Spring.

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