Retirement lifestyle: Over-55s opt for glamour over communal living

Attitudes to retirement are changing fast in Britain as specialist builders respond to the new generation of equity-rich over-55s who don’t want to just stop work and relax but also enjoy a new lifestyle. For many that will mean moving into a retirement flat with few maintenance worries, or a retirement village with on-site leisure facilities that mean never having to be alone. 

But not everybody is ready for that level of communal living. They want to downsize and have neighbours of a similar age but they don’t want to move into a small flat and they are not ready for communal lounges. That’s why McCarthy & Stone (mccarthyandstone.co.uk) has relaunched its over-55s brand Ortus Homes. 

Now known as Lifestyle Living, the brand has always been aimed at people who relish their independence but want to live among like-minded people. Although more developments are at the planning stage its latest offering is Azaleas, near Sandbanks in Dorset, a flamboyantly Italianate new-build block of 20 apartments including two massive penthouses and superb two-bedroom flats, all with large balconies and parking. 

Their backyard is the renowned Compton Acres, famous for its Japanese garden (comptonacres.co.uk), to which they have free access. And just a 15-minute walk away is Sandbanks, the spit of land with a long sandy beach lined with multi-million-pound homes. 

There are still apartments available at Azaleas, where Paul and Diane Hanrahan, aged 64 and 62, are now living in one of the magnificent penthouses. The couple still have a flat near Tower Bridge in London but after spending holidays in the area – they used to take their children to Compton Acres – they decided to look for a home nearby. 

“We had a tick list of things we wanted: walking distance to the beach, walking distance to shops and a couple of pubs and restaurants, and Azaleas met all those criteria,” says Paul. But he admits: “We ignored this site at first because we were not looking for a retirement building. Then it came up on Rightmove. We looked at the age restriction, 55, which is reasonably young and because there are no communal areas or anything we thought we would take a look. 

“We were just stunned by it. It was an instant sale for us,” says Paul. “We fell in love with it just looking at the first floor and then they said there’s an upstairs.” Paul and Diane are among the youngest residents but there is a mix of ages including the Osbornes, who were the first residents.

Patricia, 84, and Peter, 73, loved Azaleas’ position overlooking Poole Harbour, screened by mature pine trees – and the fact that it wasn’t a retirement complex but has age restrictions. 

Not that they have anything against retirement villages: “They have everything you could possibly want if you need it but we don’t need anything like that,” says Patricia, referring to the health care available at some villages. Azaleas does have an off-site manager whom residents can phone but the atmosphere is of high-end luxury apartments that could almost be in California or somewhere equally glamorous.

The remaining two-bedroom apartments have underfloor heating throughout; the master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and there’s a guest shower room and built-in wardrobes in both bedrooms. 

Each layout is slightly different but the open-plan kitchen dining-living rooms have large balconies and designer fittings. The lack of communal facilities and staff keep service charges to £2,802 a year but the apartments, although large, are quite pricey, starting from £595,000. 

Mind you, given the millionaires’ row down in Sandbanks where the average is £885,731, that’s almost a bargain.