Chocolate Works Care Village celebrates first industry award

The Chocolate Works Care Village in York has won its first prestigious industry award for its multi-million pound refurbishment programme.

Springfield Healthcare’s renovation of the former Terry’s Chocolate head office building into a £7 million care village was awarded the Refurbishment Project of the Year in the 2017 Healthcare Estates Awards. The awards were organised by the Institute of Healthcare Engineering, the UK’s largest specialist Institute for the Healthcare Estates Sector.

The landmark building was one of several iconic structures that make up the Terry’s complex. It was also the epicentre of the world-famous chocolate brand before the factory closed down in the 1970s.

After many years of being unused and abandoned, the building complex was revived into a flourishing care village, providing more than 82 deluxe suites and 8 luxury apartments.

The Chocolate Works renovation was part of an initiative by Springfield Healthcare to establish five new care villages and a care centre for working age adults. The aim of the refurbishment project was to set new benchmarks for how care environments are designed and built.

It features a covered two-storey market square with a new mezzanine level as the social hub of the building, which incorporates trees, walkways with street lamps, shop fronts and outdoor style eateries.

The care village also includes a single storey roof top extension and a large roof terrace that allows residents to enjoy uninterrupted views across York.

The Chocolate Works Care Village provides residential, nursing and specialist dementia care.