New community emerges at Dickens Heath

Locals at Dickens Heath Village Centre, a multi-award winning purpose built new development on the outskirts of Solihull in the West Midlands, are examples of a real community spirit being created.

Three different generations of the Hensel family are now living and working at the development, which has only a few luxury Waterside apartments remaining prior to the launch later this year of the final phase, Garden Squares, available for sale through Knight Frank.

Peter Hensel, aged 56, bought a stunning spacious duplex apartment overlooking the cascading water feature and Stratford-upon-Avon waterway, where he now lives with his wife, and runs First Impressions, the successful village dry cleaning business at the heart of the new Dickens Heath Village Centre. Meanwhile their two sons live in the village - one of whom, Steve, aged 30, has also set up a business in the Village Centre, namely Cre8, a new concept in health & fitness, providing exercise and nutritional programmes specifically tailored to an individual’s requirements.

Mr Hensel senior, Ernest, despite being aged 84, regularly undertakes fitness training at Cre8 under the guidance of his grandson. Ernest also lives at Waterside, following the purchase of an apartment on the other side of the water feature, from where he is enjoying retired life and making the most of the conveniently located amenities and stunning views.

Mark Evans, partner at Knight Frank commented: “Dickens Heath Village Centre has been described as one of the ‘most unique mixed use developments in the UK today’ and the community spirit inspired by the new locals now living on site has really enhanced this. The ability for families to live and work close to one another ideally all in the same village is rare but the rise of the new ‘suburban village’ means new homes are becoming available where families can buy their own property whilst being close to their relatives.

“The new Village Centre will have a total of 500 luxury homes, retail, office and leisure properties with everything you could need there close to hand including independent shops, a Tesco Express, dental practice, opticians, hair & beauty salon, exclusive restaurants and community facilities including a library, village hall, medical centre, nature reserve, village green, and children’s play area.”

Peter Hensel commented: “I wanted to buy somewhere close to my Solihull roots and where there would be a variety of options and sizes of homes available so all the family could live close by. We just knew it was right for us as there was scope for the dry cleaning business venture in the village too, so it’s just a great place to live and work. Since we bought our apartment the village has really grown and developed around us, several shops have opened along with bars and restaurants.

“It's so convenient to have such a wide range of facilities on our doorstep, and we regularly visit the bars and eat at the restaurants as a family. It’s also great to feel that we are really contributing to the community through our own businesses in the village.”

His son Steve Hensel, added: “It’s brilliant that as a family we have been able to add so much to Dickens Heath Village Centre. My business partner and I previously worked as fitness trainers in Solihull town centre and several of our previous clients have moved with us and are now coming into the village to visit, meaning it’s not just the residents making the most of the facilities on offer here. Many didn’t even know it existed before and are pleasantly surprised by all there is here, and will often visit a bar or restaurant after a work out.”

There are now only a few remaining luxury two and three bedroom apartments and penthouses available for sale within the Waterside development, which surrounds an impressive cascading water feature with superb views across the Stratford-upon-Avon waterway, nature reserve and the Solihull countryside beyond. These homes are complete and ready to move straight into. Peace of mind is assured with 24 hour security, CCTV, secured basement car parking with lift access and onsite management services.

There will also be one and two bedroom apartments, as well as exclusive three, four and five bedroom townhouses available in the forthcoming Garden Squares development, which is presently under construction and will be launched later this year. This highly desirable last phase of the development will be surrounded by private landscaped garden areas with direct access to the secured basement car parking.

Dickens Heath is located just minutes from junction 4 of the M42 providing easy access to the M40, M5 and M6 motorways, Birmingham International Airport and the national rail network.

Prices start from £225,000 for a luxury two bedroom Waterside apartment. For further information about Waterside or Garden Squares, visit dickensheathvillage.com.

For more details on Cre8 Health and Fitness visit cre8studio.co.uk.