Civil partners, Heather Page and Brian Lomas were amongst the very first residents to join the Ampfield Meadows community in July last year.

Former health promotions specialist, Heather, and retired sales and marketing manager, Brian were living in Heather’s 500-year-old house in the Midlands, which comprised of multiple levels “with steps everywhere”, so decided they needed to future-proof themselves.

“I was worried that eventually one of us would have a fall,” said Heather. “So we made the decision to start looking at properties on the other end of the scale. Somewhere brand new.”

The couple visited a number of retirement communities in the area, as they love the South of England and both have daughters nearby. For them, Ampfield is geographically in the right place as they also like to be in easy reach of friends in other parts of the country.

“We liked the modern facilities that were on offer and other villages didn’t have swimming pools,” added Heather. “We even visited one community in Romsey, housed in a listed building. I’d already lived for 34 years in an old house with small windows and low beams, so wanted a complete contrast. I loved my house, but thought there was no point in moving somewhere that offered the same as what I had”.

Joining the community at such an early stage, Brian and Heather have enjoyed watching the village expand and develop.

“We like how nice, bright and modern Chapters and Eric’s are,” added Brian. “Everyone’s been fantastic and so friendly. We’ve managed to meet and chat to our fellow residents, but we’re very much looking forward to the completion of the village centre, so we have a hub to meet”.

Another feature they are very much hoping to enjoy are the gardens. “I had a lovely garden at my previous home,” Heather reflected. “It’s something I really miss, as it’s proved to be essential for my physical and mental health. As our community grows, I’m really hoping there will be a gardening club. Perhaps, the gardening club could work with the Ampfield Gardening Team, assisting them and hopefully they could impart some advice to green-fingered residents too.”