The Bridges, Macclesfield | Apartment 03 | SOLD

The Bridges, Macclesfield comprises 62 private retirement apartments for sale, ideally located on the banks of the Macclesfield Canal and within a short distance of local shops. Designed with independent living in mind, each apartment has been finished to a high specification and includes a fully fitted kitchen complete with Amtico flooring, plenty of storage space and luxurious wet rooms. All apartments are fully carpeted, ready for you to move in. Most apartments also have a balcony or patio, giving you that all-important private outdoor space. Should you require additional support the on-site team can provide a tailored solution and are available 24 hours a day.

• Beautifully appointed kitchens with fully integrated appliances
• Walk on balconies or patios to most apartments
• En-suite and bathroom with heated towel rails to many apartments
• Slip resistant and level access shower rooms
• Wardrobe to master bedroom
• Utility cupboards with space for a washer/dryer and in most cases separate storage rooms
• 24-hour emergency call system linked directly to dedicated on-site team
• Audio and visual entry system to main entrance
• Wider doorways and spacious rooms for ease of wheelchair access
• Ample easy reach sockets, light switches and telephone points
• Electric throughout with energy efficient hot water and central heating system

Imagine more time to enjoy the things that matter most. Time to relax in your new apartment, meet new friends in our homeowners’ lounge, share a freshly prepared meal in the restaurant or take advantage of all that Macclesfield has to offer. If you have a people friendly pet, they’re also welcome too.

• Elegant table service Restaurant* serving freshly prepared hot meals daily & open to friends and family
• Beautifully appointed Lounge with outdoor patio area
• Take up a hobby in our Activities Studio
• Assisted bathroom and Therapy Room
• Pamper yourself in our Hairdressing Salon*
• Internal Mobility Scooter & Bicycle Store with electric charging facilities
• Fully furnished Guest Suite with en-suite for when family and friends stay*
• Lifts to all floors
• Private homeowners parking
• Extensive landscaped gardens with raised flower beds for you to enjoy

*additional charges apply.

Service and Well-Being Charge

All residents living at The Bridges, Macclesfield will contribute to a Service and Well-Being Charge. The high level of care, support and services on offer to enhance quality and enjoyment of life are what make Adlington different. These charges are to provide services such as;

• The provision of a daily restaurant service which enables homeowners to enjoy a delicious three course meal at exceptionally good value
• Communal cleaning and maintenance
• One hour of domestic help each week
• External window cleaning
• Water usage, buildings insurance and estate management
• 24-hour support everyday, 365 days a year, in case of any emergency, working in tandem with a discreet emergency call system installed in each apartment

Our management team takes great pride in providing a very high standard of service including checking on all Homeowners well-being, and liaising with family and professionals if necessary. They consult with Homeowners on all aspects of the operations of the development and facilitate numerous social events and activities that can be participated in as much, or as little, as you like.

You no longer have to take into consideration the ongoing costs of upkeep and maintenance of your current property, grounds and gardens. As well as owning a modern stylish apartment built to high specification that is well insulated and cost effective to heat.

Weekly Service and Well-Being Charges at Macclesfield are;

• 1 bedroom – approximately £134
• 2 bedroom – approximately £150
• 3 bedroom – approximately £165

It is important to point out that payment of the Service and Well-Being Charge has to continue even if the apartment is vacant, as it is proportioned between all Homeowners in order to maintain the high standard of service.

Care Charges

Additional care packages can be designed to suit your individual requirements. All care packages are drawn up in consultation with you, based upon a careful assessment of your needs and are regularly reviewed.  Short term illness and recuperation packages can be tailored to individual requirements where required.  Costs are based on the level of need per person.

• Hourly rate is approximately £21.00.
• The charge is doubled where two carers are required

Individual Responsibilities

As you would expect in your own home other household expenditures will remain as the Homeowner’s responsibility. These typically include:

• Council tax
• Electricity – which is metered per apartment
• Contents insurance
• Telephone line rental and broadband (where applicable)
• TV licence (where applicable)

Communal Facilities Fee

Adlington developments provide extensive communal facilities, such as the lounge, restaurant and commercial kitchen, the hairdressing salon, guest suite, specialist assisted bathroom, staff rooms, management offices and the mobility scooter store, as well as landscaped gardens and grounds. It is these facilities along with the 24-hour on-site support which makes your new home likely to be suitable for your whole life, without the need to move to a care home. This is a major benefit to well-being, peace of mind and independence and, if it avoids care home fees, also has considerable financial advantages. You will only purchase your own apartment, so in order to recoup the considerable costs of these extensive facilities we levy a Communal Facilities Fee.

A 2% per annum charge of the re-sale price achieved for the apartment is levied out of those sale proceeds, so there are no annual fees to worry about. This fee is payable for each year or part year of occupation and importantly is capped at 10 years. As Adlington retain the ownership of our developments for many years we have a vested interest in making sure that our buildings and grounds are always fully maintained and that the apartments retain their value so inheritance is maximised.

This Communal Facilities Fee also covers the cost of the following contributions and standard services:-

• A 0.25% contribution to a Building Reserve Fund for long term major capital repairs thereby ensuring that the development is always kept up to the same standard as when you purchased your apartment.
• A re-furbishment service up to the value of £2,000 when the apartment is required to be sold so that it is freshly decorated and presents to a level to achieve the best possible re-sale value.
• An Estate Agency type re-sale service, equivalent to 1% of the market value of your apartment, to help manage the sale, including marketing literature, viewings & negotiations.

Mr & Mrs Griffiths – “More time to explore”

Eddie and Mabel Griffiths love walking in the great outdoors. They wanted less hilly terrain to explore, a beautiful view, lovely gardens and more free time to enjoy them all.

The couple were no strangers to The Bridges in Macclesfield. They watched with interest as it was being built and could see the crane from their family home.

Originally from North Wales, Eddie and Mabel moved to Cheadle Hulme with their young family in 1970. They spent a couple of years there before settling in their family home in Rainow in 1972, where they lived for 47 years, raising their three daughters and exploring the local countryside with their dogs.

Mabel explained: “We’ve always had dogs. The last one, he came from Windy Way, the rescue centre. We had him when he was tiny and we had him for 17 and a half years.

Eddie added: “He was a lovely dog. We used to go out walking with him every day, so 17 and a half years qualifies for a lot of walking miles.”

Their love of walking was one of the reasons they chose to move.

“With the hills where we were living, I couldn’t walk as much as I wanted to. I can keep going on the flat, but not on the hills” says Mabel.

“Since we moved here, we can walk straight out onto the canal footpath and it’s flat. We walked to one of our daughters’ houses the other day. It took us about 25 minutes along the canal towards Bollington. Two of our daughters are just a few minutes’ walk away and it’s nice that we can walk to them or they can come to us.”

Eddie added: “We can see them coming along the canal from our apartment. We’re going to walk to Sutton Hall soon too. Being by the canal gives us a beautiful view and it serves a purpose – to enjoy walks without the hills. That was a major feature that appealed to us. Another reason was the view from here. We had a view of the hills in Rainow and we’ve got a lovely view here too.”

Mabel and their daughters were the main instigators of the move.

“It happened when Claire, one of our daughters came here to have a look for her father-in-law. She just happened to say ‘it would be lovely for you and Dad, Mum’. After that, Eddie and I were out one day and he just said shall we go and have a look at them? And that’s how it came about. The girls were all very supportive and said that it would be the right move. And then we saw this one with the view.

“The garden’s beautiful too. We had a lovely garden and I will miss it, but I also knew that when this year came, I probably couldn’t go on doing it.

“We’ve already got one flower pot on the balcony and there’s another coming at the weekend.”

It wasn’t just the beautifully maintained garden that appealed to Eddie and Mabel. They looked forward to spending a bit less time and energy on house maintenance too.

Eddie explained: “Once we decided, we realised the benefits of not maintaining a house because I’ve spent my life maintaining everything. We’ve always been DIY people and once we’d taken the dog for a walk, we’d set about doing a job.”

Mabel added: “Eddie’s installed heating in houses and all sorts of things but we just can’t do that now. He’s not allowed up ladders!

“Since we moved in, we’ve enjoyed buying a bit more modern furniture for our apartment. We’ve always been very traditional in the past, so it’s been nice to change our style.”

Eddie said: “We’ve quite enjoyed buying new stuff. Our storeroom here’s great too. I had the idea of getting a super unit from Halfords. It’s like my tool shop. I’ve got tools in there that the handyman hasn’t got! I loaded it up with things I fancied taking with me, because I had a lot of tools. I’ve also got my radio control aeroplanes and drone in there.”

Having spent his national service as a flight mechanic, working with Brigand Torpedo Bombers, Eddie is a long-time member of the High Peak Model Aero Club, building and flying model aircraft at a site to the south of Buxton.

“There’s a couple of jet engine aircraft there. The site is just big enough for them to take off and there’s quite a lot of drone racing that goes on there now. I’ve got a big drone with a Go Pro camera and I can fly and view the High Edge Raceway with that and take photographs, although I’m starting to wind down my flying a bit now.”

Having only moved into The Bridges in January, Eddie and Mabel have already been entertaining in their new home.

Mabel said: “All our daughters and son-in-laws have been to visit and we have four grandchildren now. Two are in their last year of university, one’s doing a mechanical engineering apprenticeship and one’s about to take her A Levels and they all come here as well.

“We’ve eaten in the restaurant several times, either when we’ve had people over for lunch or just the two of us. We’ve had our old neighbours over for lunch and we’ve got two friends coming over for coffee this afternoon. We’ve had a couple of drinks with our next door neighbours too. Everyone here is very friendly and very nice.

“I feel like a lady of leisure really – being waited on and not having to do a lot. We’ve got so much more leisure time to do what we want to do.”