Abbey Chase is the refurbishment and extension of an existing 66-bedroom care home beside the Abbey River in Chertsey. Designed for CHD Living, the project upgrades the two existing Heron and Kingfisher wings to create a fully accessible nursing home with larger en-suite bedrooms, improved communal facilities and stronger connections to its riverside landscape. The proposals retain the established care-home use while enabling residents to remain on site through a phased programme.

The proposed reconfiguration of the existing home will create a more accessible, comfortable and legible care environment, providing in total 66 exemplar resident bedrooms with en-suite facilities and generous living spaces, alongside improvements to circulation and navigation throughout the building. Alongside bedroom accommodation the new home will provide a bistro, day room, lounges, cinema and activity room, gym and clinic, hair and nail salon, terraces and a sun pavilion.

The design rethinks the legibility of the home, providing communal activity at the heart of the home and opens views towards the Abbey River and gardens. A contemporary zinc-clad mansard crowns the Heron Wing, while pre-cast connecting elements distinguish new interventions from the existing red brick buildings.

In addition, the proposals respond to the site’s location within the Green Belt by rationalising existing outbuildings to provide improved support spaces and improve connections so that the revised external footprint is no greater than that already on site, with an approximate 5m² reduction. Level access, new lifts, better fire escape arrangements and improved staff, kitchen, laundry and plant facilities support safer, more efficient care.