CASE STUDY 1

Malcolm and Doris Palmer spent the weekend in Taunton at a family wedding – and found their perfect home while they were here.

After years of resisting good-natured pressure from family to sell up in Bath and move to the picturesque Somerset town, the couple finally succumbed.

But it was only when a visit to a Retirement Villages development dispelled their long-held belief that downsizing meant sacrificing comfort and style that they were convinced to make the move.

Mr and Mrs Palmer settled in Bath more than 30 years ago when Mr Palmer landed a job at the Ministry of Defence headquarters in the town. After years working in Royal Navy submarines, 6ft 2in Mr Palmer relished the high ceilings and spacious rooms in their 1920s four bedroom house.

But once daughters Vanessa, Yvonne and Tracey and son Russell had left home the pair found themselves with too much space.

“As we got older the house was just too big and the large garden became a chore,” said Mr Palmer, 76. “Vanessa and Tracey live in Taunton and kept trying to talk us into moving nearer. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to, we just wished to do it when we felt the time was right.”

It was during a weekend in Taunton at a family wedding last July that Mr and Mrs Palmer were finally persuaded to visit Blagdon Village, a Retirement Villages development in the sought after Haines Hill area of the town.

“I’d just assumed retirement properties had tiny rooms and low ceilings,” said Mr Palmer. “Then I visited Blagdon Village and was very impressed. The three bedroom chalet-bungalow we looked at had plenty of room and my son-in-law, who’s an architect, was impressed with the workmanship.”

Mr and Mrs Palmer, who’s 71, headed back to their daughter’s for a ‘family conflab’.

“The over-riding opinion was that this was perfect for us and the right time,” said Mr Palmer. “We went for a wander in Taunton town centre and it was lovely to browse round the shops. Bath is a beautiful city but everything’s geared towards tourism.

“We’ve played bowls in Bath for years so visited the club in Taunton to see if we’d be welcome. Everyone was so friendly we knew we’d settle in there.”

Twenty-four hours later, before heading back to Bath, the couple returned to the village to reserve the house they’d already set their heart on.

“Of course it was a wrench leaving the house we’d lived in for so long but we haven’t missed it or Bath at all,” said Mr Palmer, who moved in in September.

“I’ve got a study here set out exactly like my old study. We’ve turned the third bedroom into a dining room which is very useful when the family visit. More and more neighbours are moving in now so we are always meeting new people. We’ve been out and about in the car and have joined the bowls club.

“And of course now we’re so near family we’re never short of visitors or helpers to get everything straight.”



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