MTE Leicester

Another sizable and complex contract undertaken by MTE is Whispers Care in Haslemere in Surrey – a scheme of four separate care home nursing blocks of two and three storeys high.

This project – awarded to us by construction giant Galliford Try – involved developing a total of 112 independent living and close care units for elderly residents.

The construction site happened to be set in an area of natural beauty – and to complicate matters further all the blocks had to be built around an existing listed building.

There were also challenging logistical access issues to be overcome.

To meet the brief we came up with four individual timber frame designs.  We added traditional roof trusses to the two smaller blocks and fabricated flat roof cassettes with firrings and ply, which were pre-fitted at the factory to the two larger blocks.

This privately-owned 55-bed retirement village is on the site of the former Whispers boarding school and offers both nursing and residential care.

Set in 25 acres of attractive parkland with views of the Surrey Hills, Whispers has a wide range of facilities including country club, bistro, spa and gymnasium.

Its focus is very much on independent living, with carers available around the clock.