Grandparents Relocate To Be Closer To Family

Brian Stubbs, 73, and his wife Christine, 66, lived in their four-bedroom family home in St Albans for 37 years.

However, with their daughters now moved away to Wing and Wixams, near Bedford, and with a couple of grandchildren between them, Brian and Christine decided they wanted to make the move to be closer to family to spend time together – and be on hand for occasional childcare duties.

They were set on Leighton Buzzard due to its handy location in between both daughters, and started seriously searching for around six to nine months before they found a suitable four-bedroom home at David Wilson Homes’ Clipstone Park development on the outskirts of the historic market town.

After selling their previous home, Brian and Christine moved out of their former family home and moved in with their daughter in Wing for a few months whilst they waited for their new home to be built.

Brian comments: “We lived in St Albans for 37 years in a former new build, but as the children had flown the nest creating their own lives we were spending a considerable amount of time travelling up and down the M1 to visit everyone. It made far more sense to relocate and be closer to the children and grandchildren, particularly as Christine regularly takes care of the little ones during the week. We were in a four-bedroom house before and had furniture that we were reluctant to get rid of. We didn’t want to scale back and downsize yet as we don’t feel we need to – we are both active and busy people and wanted to maintain our lifestyle. As we had moved slightly up the M1 corridor we were able to buy a new home of a similar size but for a better price.”

Brian and Christine, who are both retired, settled on a Holden house type, a well-proportioned detached house with flexible space to allow family and guests to stay also for the couple to pursue their own interests and hobbies.

Brian continues: “There is plenty of space in our new home, with decent sized bedrooms so our friends and family can stay over, and we love the open-plan kitchen/dining area. The kitchen is the hub of the home, and it’s a very social area in our house especially when we have guests. Christine likes to sew in her spare time, so she is using one of the bedrooms upstairs as a workroom. Downstairs there is a separate study which I use as an office and keep our files and computer.”

An added bonus for Brian and Christine is the energy efficient design and construction of their new home, which is up to 69% cheaper to run compared to a Victorian equivalent – saving up to £1410 on energy bills each year. 

Brian says: “Insulation is much better in new homes than our previous house which was built 37 years ago, and as energy bills rise this will become increasingly important. We also have the added guarantees with a new build that mean if anything goes wrong we are protected – this adds peace of mind, as we know what we are getting. The after sales team has been excellent.”

Clipstone Park stood out to Brian and Christine thanks to the amount of green space, with 75% of the development dedicated to green open spaces in the form of parks, play areas and in time allotments. 

Brian adds: “Our new home actually overlooks one of the play areas which is wonderful, and very handy for when the grandchildren come to us.” 

Marc Woolfe, head of sales at David Wilson North Thames, comments: “Ten years ago, it was unusual for retirees to upsize or side-step into a similarly sized property, and yet now this is what we typically expect from buyers in their 60s/70s. Retirees do not want to scale-down and move into smaller property,  and instead want to retain the space they are used to so they can continue to either take on childcare responsibilities or use the additional rooms to pursue hobbies and pastimes.”

Clipstone Park is only a 15 minute cycle from Leighton Buzzard Rail Station, from which London Bridge can be reached in 30 minutes, whilst Milton Keynes is just a 25 minute car journey away. The A4146, A5 and M1 connect residents to other locations across the country.

The development will also offer a range of facilities onsite once the latest phase is complete, which will include a neighbourhood centre with local shops, new schools, and a doctor’s surgery.

Currently available at Clipstone Park is a collection of four-bedroom homes, with prices starting from £609,995.

View more developments currently available from David Wilson Homes

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