Summerset Receives Resource Consent for New Boulcott Retirement Village

Summerset has at long last received resource consent from the Hutt City Council to build the new $150 million Boulcott retirement village in Lower Hutt, six years after work first began on the project.

Summerset’s chief executive Norah Barlow had announced plans for the development in April 2013, but the project had been significantly delayed due to stiff opposition from locals. Since then, they had changed the plans, which is now very different from what was originally proposed to produce a design acceptable to neighbours.

Development manager Phil Stanley reportedly said that recommendations from an urban designer had been incorporated into the design to meet the concerns raised by neighbours. The new village plan includes 247 units, including an innovative dementia unit.

The new Summerset village is poised to help the Wellington region cope with the increase in demand for more retirement villages and aged care. The Retirement Village Association predicts the amount of people aged 75 and over in the region will more than double by the year 2043, to 78,400. The Boulcott Summerset village has a waiting list of 350 people who are looking into moving into retirement village accommodation.

Soon-to-be retirees looking to plan their retirement accommodation and freeing up their family homes will need to ensure their legal affairs are fully optimised in terms of estate planning, care and accommodation planning, and any entitlement you may have to residential care support.

Gillespie Young Watson has a division that specialises in elder law and property law, catering specifically to those who are nearing or who have reached retirement. Gillespie has lawyers Wellington wide at their three locations in the Wellington CBD, Lower Hutt, or Upper Hutt.

Visit the Gillespie Young Watson website today to find more information on their range of services, or contact the team at 04 569 3997.