BAM to build £33m Residential Care Facility in Oxfordshire

BAM is to build the £33 million 'Richmond Witney' residential retirement village in Oxfordshire, UK, for Richmond Care Villages, who are part of healthcare group Bupa.

The four hectare facility will include space for approximately 240 residents, as well as a restaurant, a gym, a swimming pool, a library, a shop and an outdoor bowling green.

The company will build a village care centre incorporating 60 registered care beds on the first floor and 46 assisted living suites split across the ground and second floors. This will also include many of the facilities for the development. A northern cluster of 30 independent living unit apartments will be created, along with a southern cluster of a further 49.

Gardens will be used by the residents and also for growing fresh produce for the kitchens. Work will start on site this week, with the village set to open by early 2016.

BAM construction manager Steve Roome said: ‘We are looking forward to beginning this project to create first class facilities for those who want to get the most from later life. We will be working with local companies where possible to ensure our work benefits the local environment and community even at construction stage.’

Albert Josephs, Development Manager of Richmond Care Villages, said: ‘We were really impressed by BAM throughout the tender process and look forward to working with them during the development of Richmond Witney. Their professionalism and experience of delivering large projects such as ours, plus their friendly and helpful attitude, gives us confidence that this will be a truly successful development.’

BAM is currently on site at the University of Oxford, where it is building the £11 million Softbridge building for St Antony’s College. Designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid, the building will be a futuristic addition to the historical college.

The contractor was also behind the recent extension to city’s historic Ashmolean Museum, and several healthcare developments for the NHS Trust.

Bupa acquired Richmond Villages in August 2013.