Start date announced for £60m Newton Mearns retirement village

The £60m self-contained development will be built on a 17-acre countryside setting overlooking the city and will be named “The Hills at Whitecraigs”.

Developer Scotsbridge Holdings, which has received full planning consent for the project, is now targeting other suitable locations in Scotland for similar developments, supported by a pipeline of overseas investment.

The Hills at Whitecraigs will provide a complete approach to retirement living with luxury suites and facilities designed to encourage healthy living and wellbeing.

Life at the village will centre around a central two-storey club house, containing a bar, cafe and community facilities. The village will boast tidal pools, spa facilities, a fitness suite, multi-use spaces for community events, a contemporary restaurant and function suites.

The Hills at Whitecraigs project is the first of its kind in Scotland and will comprise 214 one and two-bedroom flats, 38 cottages (252 dwellings in total) and an 80-bed care home.

Aimed specifically at over 55s, it will promote a more holistic approach to residents’ health and wellbeing through its design and landscaping, with a high density of trees and water features, and specific facilities such as a bowling green.

Scotsbridge director Shazad Bakhsh said: “As people live longer there is growing demand for high quality accommodation that will meet their changing needs, but also help them to enjoy a full, active and varied lifestyle.

“The Hills at Whitecraigs will set new standards for luxury living for over 55s with a strong emphasis on and health and wellbeing. What we plan to offer our residents is much more than a traditional retirement facility and we want to change how people in Scotland look at later living.

“We’re proposing to break ground on the development in the first quarter of 2020 and are targeting the first phase of the residential units to be completed by third quarter of 2021.”

An independent economic impact study conducted earlier this year estimated that the development will support more than 365 permanent jobs during the next 30 years and contribute more than £74m to the local economy within that timeframe.