London —Dentons has advised Singapore-based City Developments on securing planning consent for a £200 million luxury retirement scheme in Knightsbridge, central London.  The retirement homes will be built on a site which is currently being used as a car park close to well known department store Harrods.

The retirement homes will comprise 34 assisted living apartments (options of 1, 2 and 2 bedrooms plus study) over seven storeys and will boast a 24-hour emergency support, a medical centre, guest room, physiotherapy room, resident's lounge, gym, swimming and hydrotherapy pools, sauna and steam rooms, restaurants, library, and landscaped gardens.  The apartments, which are expected to be completed in 2019, will be made available to people aged 55 and over, on long-term lease arrangements.

Real Estate partner Stephen Ashworth commented, "With the UK's aging population, there is increasing demand for retirement developments at all market levels.  A growing number of people are looking to downsize and many are not prepared to move into care homes.  Instead, demand is on the rise for both luxury and other properties with the amenities tailored to older residents.  City Developments is meeting this demand by bringing a development of this kind – which is not common in central London – to the capital."

Dentons' UK Planning team advised on all legal aspects of the planning process from the planning strategy and application through to the applications and the planning agreement.

Stephen Ashworth led on the advice and was assisted by Rachael Herbert.

Dentons' Planning team is part of the Firm's wider Real Estate practice, which advises lenders, investors, developers, landlords and tenants, buyers and sellers across all aspects of the real estate sector.  The team acts for a broad range of clients affected by planning and property decisions – developers, investors, tenants, local government, central government, parish councils and representative bodies.

The UK Planning team was recently named Planning Law Firm of the Year at the 2016 Planning and Placemaking Awards for its outstanding achievements in the planning work it undertook on a number of significant planning and regeneration projects that will transform the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London.