A 'lifestyle' village in North Yorkshire has celebrated 10 years of community friendship.
Rangeford Villages’ Mickle Hill in Pickering marked a decade since the facility for the over 60s opened.
Guests of the celebratory event hosted at the village included 19 owners that exchanged ten years ago, village team members who have worked at Mickle Hill since the very beginning and representatives from the Rangeford executive team. Highlights included speeches from Howard Nankivell, CEO at Rangeford Villages, and Gillian Green, Village Manager at Mickle Hill, food and refreshments in the Bistro, an official cake cutting and live entertainment by singer, Beth Brookes.
Gillian said: "So much has happened in the past 10 years; we have evolved and grown immensely from just 13 owners – that was the number when I first walked through that door – to the thriving community of over 200 owners that we have now.
"It has and continues to be an absolute pleasure to be a part of the Mickle Hill community and to be the Village Manager of this fantastic place.
"We have so many wonderful people here in our beloved owners and village team, some of whom have been with us from the start of this journey. This milestone is not only a celebration of our past ten years, but also an exciting look ahead to the future of our vibrant village.
Bill, one of the first owners to move in and a key member of the Mickle Hill community, said: “My wife grew up in Pickering and always wanted to eventually move back.
"When we first visited all those years ago, I instantly knew this was the right decision for us. We’ve enjoyed ourselves from the very beginning of this chapter and it hasn’t stopped. Our apartment is west facing and looks over fields where my wife played as a child, now that’s pretty special.”
Mr and Mrs Thompson downsized to their two-bedroom bungalow ten years ago. Mr Thompson has been very involved in construction projects with Bill throughout the years and Mrs Thompson opened the village shop in 2017 for owners to purchase essentials.
Mrs Thompson said: “The village shop was always in the pipeline and Gillian was very supportive of us opening it. It was a relatively straightforward process and it felt good to be giving back to the lovely owners around us. We’d go to the shops weekly to purchase the stock, we’d choose items we felt the owners would like or need. Three years ago I handed over the shop to a fellow owner.”
Rosemary, who also lives in a two-bedroom bungalow and was one of the first owners to move in, said: “I have so many lovely friendships here, there is always someone to talk to, you never feel alone.
“So many owners say they wish they made the move sooner and my advice is to move whilst you can do so independently and start this new chapter whilst you can make the most out of it."
Residents at Mickle Hill have access to a range of onsite amenities, including a cinema, hair and beauty salon, gym, library, convenience shop and café bistro. The 90 apartments and 78 bungalows have been carefully designed for ease of use and access. Additional in-house care services are available.
For further details visit: www.rangefordvillages.co.uk
Share