Dormy Care Communities Hereford Care Home

Removing property barriers to bring risk-free solutions to care home operators

Turning the traditional development process on its head – Prime are solving challenges for care home operators by offering attractive, pre-approved development opportunities. In speeding up the acquisition to operation period, Prime are saving operators time and money, and crucially shielding them from risk.

Using our development expertise to unlock land for new schemes we offer operators a unique opportunity to purchase a site that’s ready to build on – something Dormy Care Communities have benefitted from at their new Hereford site.

More than ever, towns and cities across the UK are in need of high-quality care home facilities; something Prime is proactively addressing via an innovative development model. By locating and securing suitable care home development sites, and preparing them for the market with pre-sale design and planning approval, Prime is removing barriers for care home operators. Using this site identification, acquisition and planning service and leveraging Prime’s land development expertise, smaller care home operators are able to compete with larger operators to realise their expansion plans.

Thanks to Prime’s foresight and expertise, Dormy Care Communities, part of Albion Care Communities, have used this model to bring their high-quality residential, nursing and dementia care to Hereford.

The Hafod Road site had been identified by Prime as a desirable location, in an area we determined through market research and analysis to be in need of high-quality care home beds. With its ample space, residential location and proximity to transport links, the vacant  Herefordshire County Council Headquarters was a space with potential, but not without its challenges. To get the site market-ready and make it a viable option for a care home operator, Prime used its 20+ years of property and development experience to overcome a number of development barriers.

Located within Hereford Conservation area, in a largely residential area, Prime needed to ensure local support. By holding consultation events for neighbouring residents and negotiating architectural parameters to ensure the scheme design would be a good fit for the conservation area, Prime garnered the support of both the community and planners.

With the County Council keen to preserve the oldest parts of the site – a period feature house constructed in 1905 – Prime worked closely with the Council to navigate the complex site transaction and planning process, negotiating a solution whereby the original features of the property would be documented and removed for preservation before demolition.

Using this model, care home developers can achieve a quicker return on investment thanks to a shorter time frame from acquisition to operation. With all the legal, planning and design groundwork complete and the former council offices demolished on behalf of the buyer, the land development opportunity in Hereford was sold ready to build on and a return on investment could be realised much sooner for Dormy Care Communities.