Acres Field - Mobility Special

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ACRES FIELD is owned and managed by Michael and Julie Ward, who also have other park home and leisure developments in the vicinity. Like other parks groups, their business has expanded but there is something that makes Acres Field different to their other parks.

Michael and Julie bought the adjacent 13-acre site, Wyre Vale, in 1974, and it now has 134 park homes. Acres Field itself was bought in February 2006 and covers an additional seven acres.

In 2003 Michael and Julie had been to Florida to attend courses on ‘Quality Service’ at the Disney Institute. They took the opportunity to visit both park home manufacturers and Tanglewood Park, a privately owned, 350-acre park at Sebring in Florida where retirement lifestyle is the focus.

Tanglewood had been specifically designed for the retired and at its centre was a large community building with a swimming pool, tennis courts, function room, crafts room and a doctor’s surgery.

Michael and Julie returned to the UK enthusiastic about the possibility of creating something similar in the UK, but on a smaller scale. After purchasing the land now called Acres Field they approached the local council with their vision for the development.

The council was supportive of this concept but was concerned that the project did not comply with its various planning policies.

Michael had foreseen long before the government had even begun to recognise the problem that we are an ageing population and that homes need to be adapted in order to allow people to remain in them and to remain independent for as long as physically possible. He was convinced of the benefits that the scheme would bring and despite all the hurdles placed before him, one by one these were overcome. Eventually, in March 2008, the application finally came before the local planning committee and the result was a unanimous decision in favour of the development.

Thoughtful design

“As we grow older there will be more and more people who will suffer from some form of disability or other,” Michael told me. “But with the advances in medical science such disability may only be temporary. Through careful and thoughtful design we have incorporated elements within each home that will assist those with health problems, if required.”

The innovations include internal walls and ceilings that have been strengthened to take hoists or grab rails, wet rooms with low threshold showers for ease of access, wider doorways, raised plug sockets, and lever taps.

Work eventually started on site in July 2009 and the official opening took place in May 2010 with Ben Wallace MP, Professor David Bellamy and his son, Rufus, both leading conservationists, as guests of honour. All were very impressed by what had been achieved, including the use of environmentally friendly products and the care that had been taken to ensure that the park homes blended into the local environment.

Attention to detail

The guests were particularly impressed by the attention to detail, including the futuristic street lighting based on LED lights, which have a life expectancy of 25 years and are incredibly energy efficient. Each fitting has thirty six lights and should one light fail for whatever reason thirty five will still be lit. Also – and equally important – is the fact that the type of light these fittings produce assists those who suffer from visual impairment.

In addition, during the course of the development, local tradesmen contractors and products have been used wherever possible.

“Conservation and protecting our environment are key issues to us,” Michael said. “Wyre Vale Park is the longest standing Bellamy Gold Conservation Award winning residential park in the UK, a record we are really proud of.”

Children from a local junior school visited on the opening day as part of a community project to commence work on the new conservation area on Acresfield and they will be involved in future projects.

Chosen manufacturers

Michael and Julie chose to work with two manufacturers, Country Homes and Stately Albion, in order to offer potential new homeowners a choice of designs and colour schemes that are unique to Acres Field.

Michael also decided to go beyond the requirements of the planning permission by ensuring that every new home is as energy efficient as possible. All of them attain a ‘B’ energy rating as standard – ‘A’ being the highest and ‘G’ the lowest. The average bricks and mortar house is ‘D’.

To attain this high standard the insulation in the walls, floors and roof has been increased, with Argon filled Pilkington ‘K’ glass installed, AAA appliances used where possible, along with an induction hob in the kitchens and energy efficient lighting included.

The local council, as part of the scheme, also gave permission for a leisure building to be built near the entrance to the park. This will incorporate new office accommodation, a swimming pool, a state of the art gym, a dance studio, a library-cum-function room, and a consulting room for visiting professionals such as chiropodists, physiotherapists and hairdressers. Work on this is planned to start towards the end of 2011.

Each plot can accommodate homes up to 60ft x 22ft and all homes are provided with mains services – gas, water, electricity and sewerage. All utilities can be purchased from the supplier of each owner’s choice.

Strong support

Despite the awful weather conditions over the winter months, Michael and Julie have been pleasantly surprised at the level of interest shown in their new park and seven park homes have been sited already.

The park is on the main bus routes, providing services into the centre of Garstang, Blackpool, Preston, Lancaster and Morecambe. Within two minutes walk of the park is a newsagent, a convenience store and a sub post office. Garstang has supermarkets, a library, a large medical centre – in fact, everything you would expect from a thriving market town.

The local media has throughout been very supportive of this scheme and recognised from the outset the benefits to the local community. They even ran an internet survey asking for votes for and against the scheme and over 80% voted in favour.

Relieving stress

When illness strikes Michael has his own experience as just over a year ago he had a major heart attack. If he and Julie had not had their bathroom converted to a wet room a few months earlier, he would have spent a few weeks in hospital, prior to his discharge, at a huge cost to the taxpayer while the necessary alterations were carried out.

“If illness strikes, the last thing you and your partner need is the financial stress and worry of having to have your home adapted to ensure that you can live independently,” he told me.
So will Acres Field be a blueprint for the future? Why should it be unique? Will other park owners take on the risk? And what about local councils: will they support such radical developments outside of the local or regional core strategy?

Frankly, I hope so and I want parks and the industry to work together in a unique and united fashion to develop the future of park home living in a safe, affordable and dedicated environment in attractive setting. Perhaps more villages need to encompass this idea into their Village Design Statements. This is 2010 and it’s time to move on.

CONTACT

Acres Field Wyre Vale Park, A6 Cabus, Garstang, Lancashire PR3 1PH.
Tel: 01995 604975. Email: [email protected].
Web: www.acresfieldlifestyle.co.uk

This article was published in the October 2010 issue of Park & Holiday Homes. To order your copy please click here

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