We are working with Wiltshire Council to transform the former Fives Court care home in Mere into 20 independent living apartments, combining refurbishment and extension to create high-quality, sustainable homes for older residents. Designed in accordance with the Wiltshire Design Guide and seeking to respond positively to the surrounding convservation area, the project has been developed to meet three golden threads:

 

Health, Wellbeing and Community – The building aims to provide new accommodation for existing and future older residents in Mere providing socially rented homes, in perpetuity, exempt from the Right to Buy policy. The scheme also provides a shared community resource in a new day centre for use by local groups and older persons to support those with dementia and wider health issues.

 

The right homes in the right places – The site is well located for older residents in Mere, nestled within a quiet side street and providing access on foot to local amenities, shops and public places within the town. The scheme has been developed with support from the local residents of Lynch Close in Mere and through consultation with immediate neighbours, with the aim that the proposal can be seen as a respectful neighbour whilst providing these much needed homes in central Mere.

 

Sustainability and Climate Resilience – The proposal seeks to retain a significant proportion of the existing stone and ground floor walls, insulating and upgrading these existing structures whilst providing lightweight accommodation above to minimise the weight added to the retained elements, and aiming to meet the forthcoming Future Homes Standards. Overheating will be managed with external shading that also controls overlooking, and natural ventilation will be provided to enable healthy internal environments. The priority of the Wiltshire Housing team is minimising carbon emissions in use but the intention to retain key elements and use low carbon methods to construct the additional accommodation will also help to provide resilient lower embodied carbon solutions and support fabric first highly insulated homes.