These properties are a mixture of self-contained flats and houses, and most of our almshouses comprise one bedroom flats. The majority of these are big enough to provide accommodation for a couple, although some are only of sufficient size for a single person. Within each flat there is a living room, bedroom, shower room or wet room, and a kitchen. Each flat is centrally heated and linked to the welfare staff by a call system.
Our reformed Southside flats have level access to support those with mobility challenges, but others have no adaptations and require complete independence and mobility. We are committed to benchmarking our accommodation against Extra Care Standards wherever possible and are currently upgrading and modernising our properties to best serve residents.
There is a community room at St Mary Magdalen with an in-house library area where regular coffee mornings, monthly lunch clubs and residents’ social clubs and social events are held.
At St John’s North there is a medically equipped bath which residents can use with the help of a carer if bathing at home becomes difficult.
The beautiful communal gardens and areas are maintained by a gardener and caretaker. We also have a laundry room and a communal bin store located at each site. Some residents have their own area of grounds that they enjoy looking after.
To support residents to accommodate visitors we have a guest room. This has a nominal nightly charge for the use of the flat.
Spirituality
There is no required religious affiliation of prospective residents; we welcome all faiths and those with none, and we will support you to find local services or groups which meet your individual requirements. We have our own chapel in the Broadway which is walking distance from the almshouses. Here services are taken regularly by Alison, our Chaplain, who also provides pastoral support to residents.
Parking
There is no on-site parking for visitors. We are fortunate to have a very accessible Park and Ride bus stop located close by and there are several local car parks.
Maintenance and repairs
Living here, there’s no need to worry about maintenance and repairs. We have our own in-house maintenance team which is supplemented with specialist contractors where required.
Read our Maintenance and Repairs Policy here.
We are rated as ‘good’ by our regulator, the Care Quality Commission. As a registered service we are required to display our last inspection ratings. You can download and read our latest CQC Inspection Report here.