Government Civil Service College converted into new homes

In accordance with recent commitments by the Cabinet Office to reduce the size of the Government Estate, as well as Parliament’s ongoing commitment to provide 300,000 homes per year by the mid-2020s, the Government Civil Service College in Berkshire is being converted into 271 new homes.

Going into more detail, the Government Civil Service College at Sunningdale Park in Berkshire has been sold by the Cabinet Office to the property development company known as the Berkeley Group for a figure of £50M, with a contractor company named the Audley Group having been appointed to build the aforementioned new homes.

Cabinet Office Minister, Lord Agnew stated: “This is a concrete example of how reducing the size of the Government estate can both generate money for vital public services and provide much needed new homes.

“The restoration of the listed building at the heart of the development and opening up of its surrounding parkland for use by the public will also benefit the local community for generations to come.”

Specifically, the redevelopment will convert the old college building, known as Northcote House into a 103 person capacity retirement village, while a further 168 new houses will be built on the land surrounding Northcote, with 38 of these houses set to fall under the classification of affordable housing.

The Chairman of the Berkeley Group, Tony Pidgley CBE commented: “We are delighted to be moving ahead with this exciting project and look forward to working with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and local people to create a fantastic community at Sunningdale Park, alongside a beautiful new 42 acre public park for everyone to enjoy.”

The Chief Executive of the Audley Group, Nick Sanderson added: “This site presents a unique opportunity to create an aspirational mixed use development to serve the whole community. The demand for high quality retirement living options, with a holistic approach to housing, care and health, continues to grow and we’re proud to be leading the way.”

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