Balfour Beatty wins £38m Surrey retirement complex contract

Balfour Beatty has picked up the £38m construction contract to build a retirement complex in Surrey.

A former Victorian Gothic-style private home (pictured) in Englefield Green near Runneymede is being converted into a luxury retirement home, known as Cooper’s Hill, with a health club and swimming pool.

Balfour will deliver 78 retirement properties, a restaurant and library as well as the leisure facilities, having already worked on the detailed design and pricing proposal for the project since last year.

The scheme is part of retirement home developer and operator Audley’s network of “retirement villages” across England.

Balfour is already on site with the £3m enabling works. Main construction works are due to start this autumn.

Dean Banks, managing director for UK Construction Services at Balfour Beatty, said: “Our long-standing relationship with Audley has enabled us to work together to deliver [this] proposal.”

Audley managing director Kevin Shaw said: “The retirement village model is very different to that of traditional housebuilders; building the villages is the first step, but Audley then continues to operate and run those villages, so it is essential that we work with partners that understand this significant difference.”