Central Bedfordshiire Council has signed a £54 million contract with Farrans Construction to deliver a new senior living village.

Built on the site of a former leisure centre, Steppingley Road will be an extensive development and will include a residential 72-bed care home, 88 independent living apartments for the over 55s and an 8-bed short stay unit.

The development will also contain a pub-style café, medical rooms, a hairdresser, and a community space including extensive gardens and attractive pathways connecting the development to the leisure centre and the neighbourhood.


This is the fourth major development to be built to support the council's housing strategy for older people and evidence of our significant investment to provide more accommodation choices for older people.

Designed by architects, Oliver and Robb, the building will be built to the highest sustainable standards using Passivhaus criteria to deliver a super energy-efficient building. Work on the site is due to start on site in June 2022 with the care home and, independent living apartments due to be complete in 2024.

The core building is designed to meet dementia-friendly guidelines and the best energy performance standards, known as Passivhaus, to deliver the healthiest of environments, help reduce our energy demands in the future and contribute toward lowering our carbon footprint.